Category Archives: Uncategorized

Breath, Wind, Spirit

Eastertide
May 29, 2017

Scripture Reading: Numbers 11:24-30

So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again. –Numbers 11:24-25

The Hebrew word for spirit is ruach, which is used interchangeably for breath and wind. In Biblical literature, the Spirit of God is as ancient as the creation stories. The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.(Genesis 2:1). We should not be surprised to find it in the book of Numbers. The mysteries of the nature of God abides with us always.

I fear we Christians may limit the beginning of the history of the Spirit of God to Pentecost or the book of John’s report of Jesus breathing the Spirit on the disciples after the resurrection. The book of Hebrews (13:8) proclaims Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Surely this description includes the Spirit.

What does the foreverness of the Spirit mean to us today? What does a relationship with the Spirt mean? I write this to a symphony of wind gales in the background the aftermath of damaging winds and tornados that ravaged the Plains about 100 miles west of my home last night. Many homes were destroyed, people were injured, and one man was killed. We do not take wind lightly in Oklahoma. We should not take the Spirit of God lightly either. A power able to form the earth from chaos can shape us into a powerful Body carrying out the work of Christ in the world today. Let it be so.

Prayer: Come Holy Spirit, move among us making us each whole, together one, and advocates for your justice. 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.

Called to Action

Eastertide
May 14, 2017

Scripture Reading: John 14:1-14

Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. –John 14:8-14

I cannot decide whether social media is a good thing or a bad thing. I hate the fake news but the stories of regular people doing the right thing at the right time are inspirational. I rarely post anything and routinely check social media because it is a great place to keep up with my family members and friends in their everyday pursuits and pictures. A friend mused to me recently that she decided to quit watching the news it was so disturbing. She immediately changed her mind realizing the news’ disturbing messages were the very reason she needed to keep up with it. Reading the newspaper is a source for prayer concerns.

In the midst of all the chaos that surrounds us often described in the news of the day, Christ thinks that we will do greater works than he did. I guess if that is are calling we better get out of our recliners and get with the program. I wear another gadget of modernity that tells me when I need to move, tracks what I eat, and even measures the amount of sleep I get each night.  My only task to take advantage of this tool is to recharge it at regular intervals. That is a good practice in doing the work of God. Jesus outlined in broad terms how to live.We are wise to plug routinely into our relationship with God recharging our love and touching base with the ultimate guide to our work.

Prayer: God of Love and Grace, energize us to work toward your justice throughout our world. 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.

Law and Culture

Eastertide
May 8, 2017

Scripture Reading: Acts 7:54-60

When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen. But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. –Acts 7:54-57

I am currently reading Will Willimon’s book Who Lynched Willie Earle? In general, it delves into how the church deals with racism in our world today. It specifically develops the story of a local minister in 1947 preaching about the killing of a black man by a mob. Willie Earle was in jail accused of robbery and murder. Before any trial, he was dragged from his cell and killed. All accused of participating in his murder were acquitted.

Reading this book might have impacted the way I reacted to reading the lectionary scripture from Acts this week. It does not include the whole story. If you need a refresher course on the stoning of Stephen, you will want to read all of Acts 7. Most of the chapter is essentially a sermon Stephen preached to his faith brothers and sisters, which they deemed to be blasphemy.

Sometimes it is helpful to look back in history to gives us the fortitude to look at our present and determine what we want to do about it regarding the future. Hindsight is often clearer than what we see right in front of us or perhaps what we do not choose to see. We could critique Stephen’s style. He might have lived a little longer had he not been so in their faces, but would they have even listened to him at all? I could write about his outraged neighbors who so quickly rendered justice through what was legal behavior at the time. The murder of Willie Earle was illegal according to the law books but that did not matter. Culture is often stronger than statute. Therein, lies the problem.

As we in the USA struggle to be a representative democracy, we must own what our government is doing in our name. It is time we struggled with what kind of a people we want to be, what kind of a country we want to have, and engage in the process of making our representatives accountable for both their actions and their inactions. To accomplish that we must account for our own responsibility as citizens charged with providing for the Common Good.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we turn away from our responsibilities as citizens. Open our hearts and minds to seeing ways to define the Common Good and then to find the means of providing 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.

Love vs. Violence

Eastertide
May 4, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:19-25

For it is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. –1 Peter 2:19-21

No one deserves to be beaten for anything. Beating for punishment just proves to the recipient of the thrashing that violence is a proper way to deal with discord. It tells the one being beaten that he or she just needs to be more violent the next time. A foster mother called me once frantic. Her recently placed two to three-year-old foster child kept scratching herself to the point of drawing blood. Clipping her nails did not help. She was finally outfitted with little mittens. The child’s psychologist thought she was missing her mother and she associated her mother with pain. It was the only way of love she had ever known.

It is sad to think that disciples faced grave danger as they traveled throughout a world where violence was the measure of success. Their audience was unaware of a God of love. Jesus’ parable of the sower planting seeds comes to mind. (Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, and Luke 8:1-15) Only some seed fell on fertile ground ready to receive it and nurture its growth. Violence seems to be more prevalent in our world today. The evening news is full of it. The message of God’s love is just as crucial today as it was 2000 years ago and there are those who have no idea what it means unless they see it in our actions.

By the way, I returned that little girl to her mother after a lot of hard work on the mother’s part recovering herself from a life of being abused. Her healing touch helped her daughter’s return to wholeness as did the love of a wonderful foster mother.

Prayer: Lord, make us doers of your love. Help us illuminate the world to recognize love wins over violence always. 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.

Spirit Led

Eastertide
May 1, 2017

Scripture Reading:  Acts 2:42-47

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. —Acts 2:42

Acts describes a four-fold schematic of spiritual disciples that stands the test of time: teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.

Teaching here is derived from the Greek word didaché*, a noun, which describes a body of knowledge.  Its verb form describes instruction about a body of knowledge that certainly includes the Hebrew Bible, perhaps the writings of the Apocrypha, and maybe by the time of the writings of Acts, Paul’s letters and other works in circulation, for example, the gospel of Mark, the missing Q document, and other writings now in the New Testament such as Hebrews. The Bible as we know it did not yet exist when Acts was written. We are each required to study and discern from a wide variety of sources related to God, ancient and current. We are wise to do that in dialogue with other seekers to hold us accountable for not limiting our discernments to what we want to hear.

Fellowship is the companionship of persons on equal and friendly terms**. I value highly the fellowship of my congregation as it strives to nurture and care for people from birth to the grave. Even in the limited size of a single congregation, it is a challenge to have companionship with all persons on equal and friendly terms. Jesus commanded us to take that fellowship to all the people of the earth. To do that, we must first and foremost understand what God’s purpose is for us. It is hard to love everyone. It amazes me still that as a child welfare worker, I learned to look at someone who had beaten his or her own child severely and see the pain in their beings that lead to that atrocity. It is easier to do that when the offender is a stranger. Objectivity suffers when a relationship exist which compounds our ability to respond with love when we feel our love has been betrayed. The presence of the Holy Spirit in relationships is key to re-balancing relationships.

Ephesians 4:26 Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger is most likely the source of the adage do go to bed angry. I think the same advice applies to eating together. The breaking of bread in communion with others derives from the culture of family. Family presumes a permanent relationship. There is just something about eating together that reminds us of our oneness and our dependence on each other. Jesus chose this most common of practices to symbolize his mission and ministry when he took the bread and gave it to his disciples to share as he did the wine. Again, he encourages us to go beyond our comfort zones and commune with the entire family of God.

The Greek word for prayer, proseuché***, means exchange of wishes. We are probably most adept at presenting our laundry list of desires to God, and not so good at reciprocating by not only taking in God’s list but also trying with all our might to fulfill it. At times our lists may include wishes, if granted that would not be in our best interest. We can be assured that God’s wishes are always in our best interest and perhaps more importantly the best interest of the Kingdom of God.

Prayer: Lord, guide my growth in learning how to love like you. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/greek/1322.htm
**http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/fellowship
***http://biblehub.com/greek/4335.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.

O Love that Will Not Let Me Go

Eastertide
April 26, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 1:17-23

If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. –1 Peter 1:17-20

If God is an impartial judge what are God’s expectations for us? Are our ways in sync with God’s? Do we ascribe high priorities to the same things God does? The Hebrew Bible tells us that the Israelites routinely fell into bad habits of placing priorities on things that did not matter while letting slip the things that did. Idol worship was offensive to God where God’s people were putting their trust in carved images. We think we are way past that sort of nonsense, but are we really? Where do we place our trust? Certainly, accumulation of wealth seems a source of salvation in our society. Power is another. Neither are guaranteed even in our own time much less for eternity.

God apparently thought we needed help in sorting out our priorities and sent Jesus to live among us, one human being modeling being human for the rest of us. He simplified priorities by having only two: loving God and loving each other with no strings attached, no tests for us to administer to determine who deserves either God’s love or ours. The job of judging was reserved for God only.

Loving God and loving each other is an impossible task for humans unless we are plugged into our relationship with God. We might tiptoe around the edges of truly loving another but all others, I doubt it. The potential for loving all others is in every human as we are each made in the image of God who is love. God can and will enable our ability to love like Jesus, when we open ourselves to the fullness of God’s love.  Let it be so.

Prayer:
O love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be.* Amen

*First verse of O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go by George Matheson (1882) see at http://hymnary.org/text/o_love_that_wilt_not_let_me_go

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.

A New Thing

Eastertide
April 22, 2017

Scripture Reading: John 20:19-31

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’ –John:19-23

For fear of the Jews, the disciples huddled behind closed doors not knowing what else to do absent their leader. I must say it is hard for me to image being afraid of the people with whom I have worshiped all my life. I think of Muslims dealing with groups such as ISIS. I think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer walking toward the gallows. I think how divided Christians are today and wonder could we be headed down this same path.

Even amid very real fear, Jesus calls and empowers us to continue his ministry. Sent is a key word here. We are not called to an enclosed locked-down hiding place. We are called to go forth into the world loving God and loving the way Jesus loved as our primary mission. Yes, it is important and necessary that we share our ministry in a loving community of faith that nurtures and trains us for ministry. Such a place is not an end unto itself but the means to the end of initiating and building the Kingdom of God in our world today.

The gift of the Holy Spirit is key to the success of our mission. We may have differing tasks. There are many ways to show love. Some provide food, some feed the hungry. Some who have recovered from alcohol or drug addiction mentor those trying to free themselves from addiction’s slavery. Others provide a caring, safe environment for the receipt of treatment. Some advocate for restorative justice. Others provide preschools to break the pipeline to prison.

I cannot image the Holy Spirit giving divisive guidance to those who have chosen to follow Christ. We need to find the things on which we agreed and divvy up the work according to our skills and resources. When we are out of sync with each other, we are most likely out of sync with the Spirit. In such situations, rather than trying to win battles against each other, we must turn to God, ask for forgiveness, and seek the Spirit’s guidance in doing a new thing.

“I will do a new thing in you;
I will do a new thing in you;
Whatever you ask for, whatever you pray for,
nothing shall be denied.”
saith the Lord; saith the Lord!* (See Isaiah 43:19)

Prayer: Lord forgive us when we get so caught up in being right that we become wrong in our love. Do a new thing in us. Amen.

*I will do a New Thing in You by Audrey Byrd see at http://www.hymnary.org/person/Byrd_Audrey

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.

Hindsight as Insight

Lent
Maundy Thursday
April 13, 2017

Scripture Reading: John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes. –John 20:1-10

Today we observe the Last Supper. In our scripture, Jesus is already dead, buried, and now missing from the tomb. It is hard to imagine the shock Jesus’ followers are experiencing. He warned them many time, tried to prepare them for this time, but no one is ever really prepared for such life changing moments. I remember visiting my dad in the ICU about an hour before he died. He was sitting on the side of the bed, looking healthier than he had for months as the hospital staff had drained 40 pounds of liquid from his body. He had a massive heart attack just a few days before. The nurse told me when I asked how he was doing that he was about the same. He said in a very matter of fact manner, “It is worse than they think.” Visitors were only allowed ten minutes so I told him I would be back at the next visiting period and left. I did not realize at the time he was trying to prepare me for what he knew was coming. In hindsight, I appreciated his attempt. My guess, the disciples dealt with a lot of hindsight over the next several weeks after Holy Week.

As we observe the Last Supper today, let us be mindful of the words that are spoken. Listen for the parts of the story you might remember in hindsight. Prepare for the events that are coming for they still change our lives.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for your graciousness in sharing your insights with us. Help us understand 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.

God’s Oneness

Lent
April 11, 2017

Scripture Reading: Acts 10:34-43

That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’ –Acts 10:37-43

My background is in planning.   After developing a vision, mission, goals, and objectives it is important to track progress to determine if our actions are attaining the desired outcomes. Acts is a report of progress made by the followers of Jesus immediately after his death and resurrection. Acts is a wonderful lesson in how the best laid plans often go astray*. Those pesky temptations of greed and pride and desire for power seep in when least expected. By chapter five we learn of a couple, Ananias and Sapphira, misrepresenting their donation trying to have their cake and eat it too, I guess. Reminded me of when I first moved to the city and learned that membership in certain churches looked good on a resume. Developing a plan with multiple humans is hard. Sticking to it is even harder. Changing it when indicated is the toughest thing of all.

The thing is God created us to work together. Instilled in us skills and knowledge designed to complement each other and produce synergy where the result is greater than the sum of its parts. Such communities of faith work best when their starting point and their continuing emphasis is on being in alignment with God. And yes we even fight over what that might look like but the God who made us is more powerful than all those pesky distractions and will lead us where we need to go as surely as rivers run to the seas.

Prayer: Lord, during this Holy Week, rekindle our desire to be one with you and with each other. Amen.

*The saying is adapted from a line in “To a Mouse,” by Robert Burns : “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.”

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.

Unbind Us, and Let Us Go

Lent
April 4, 2017

Scripture Reading: John 11:1-45

Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead for four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upwards and said, ‘Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’ –John 11:38-44

Was Jesus’ primary purpose in coming to earth to unbind us, and let us go now? It is often said upon the death of a person who has suffered grave illness or severe disability, God has freed them of their pain or disability. The Robe was the first movie I remember seeing. It is the fictional story of the Roman who won Jesus’ robe at his crucifixion.  The Roman is haunted by the robe and travels through the Christian world trying to be freed from its powers. In one scene, he comes upon a beautiful young woman playing a harp, although she could not walk because her legs were crippled. The young woman is at peace and joyously proclaims her faith in Jesus Christ. The Centurion challenges her that Jesus did not heal her for she was still crippled. To which she replied that he healed her of her bitterness and self-pity.

Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God is at hand. He does not see the world as others see it. Present at the creation, he knows the potential of the world and all that is in it, including we humans. His is a now and future Kingdom of which we are called as partners to bring it into full fruition. We see evil all around and grow discouraged from its power. John’s gospel does not let us get away with shaking in our boots. Jesus Christ not only unbound Lazarus to return him to his calling, he unbinds us still today if we open ourselves to following in his footstep.

Each day let us lay before God those things that are holding us back from being fully the persons God created us to be and open ourselves to God’s healing mercies as God unbinds us and sets us free.

Prayer: God thank you for your continuous presence with us. Fill the gaps in our lives that limit our responses, clean the filters in our minds that limit our love. Amen.

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

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.