Eastertide
May 26, 2014

Scripture Reading: Acts 27:39-44 

The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none might swim away and escape; but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest to follow, some on planks and others on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land. — Acts 27:42-44 

The ship on which Paul was being transported to Rome for trial ran aground on a reef a ways out from an Island, in swimming distance for some.  The ones who could not swim the distance or could not swim at all had to receive special attention to save their lives. Parts of the wooden ship were used as floating devices and all were saved.

Many Americans have a “pull yourself up from your bootstraps” mentality based on our pioneering history. Indeed, we are called on to do all that we can to become fully the person God created us to be, but sometimes a little help along the way is necessary. I lived with a really bad knee for many years before being told that it would need to be replaced. In the same conversation, it was explained that I would need to wait ten years before they would replace it because I was too young to have the surgery. So I limped around for a while moving from one place to sit to the next, unable to climb stairs, and dependent on a cane. When I changed primary care physicians, my new doctor prescribed medication and treatment that helped me become more mobile and return to swimming. He did concur with the practice of waiting until age sixty for the surgery.  I had the surgery as soon as I could. (About the time I hit 60, the technology had improved and the age limit was no longer recommended.) The muscles in my thigh above my damaged knee had atrophied in the meantime and it took an expert personal trainer to help me regain the use of those muscles following the surgery.

I am sharing this story with you because I think it is important for all of us to realize that there have been “others” who have helped all of us along the way and that we are called to be that “other” for our neighbors as the need arises. It is great, if we can swim to shore on our own. Using that skill would be a way to celebrate those who came before us and taught us how to swim as we guide the plank to which someone who cannot swim clings in desperation and fear.

Prayer: O God, I celebrate all those who gave me help when I needed it. Show me ways I can be of help to the “Other” that I meet along the way. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Eastertide
May 25, 2014

Scripture Reading: Acts 17:22-31 

Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, ‘Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way…. From one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said, “For we too are his offspring.” — Acts 17:22, 26-28 

Paul stands amid an array of Greek gods all named and described for their individual areas of divinity except for one marked to an unknown god. The task at hand is to introduce thee Greeks to the one God in whom Paul has caste all his being without offending them regarding the other gods they worship. This unknown god seems to me to be a failsafe in case these Greeks had missed some. While that may sound like an insurance policy, it may be more an illustration of how honest the Greek were about their inability to wrap their minds around the concept of god. Clearly, for them the idea of one god was hard to grasp.

Our world is very different today and oh so much the same. We do not line up gods made of stone and give them names but we do struggle to find entities in which we can place our trust.  For good measure we, too, sometimes make a god, shaped in ways that most meets our needs or wants, as an insurance policy.  Paul is telling the Greeks and us too that it is the other way around. There is one God in whose image we were crafted. God is the one who establishes the playing field and the game plan. Our sense of wellbeing is directly tied to the relationship and response we have to God. While we spend much time groping to find the right god, the one God is ever near ready and willing to relate to us.

Our challenge is letting go of these lesser gods and turning toward the one God.

Prayer: Abba, Parent of all, take my hand no matter how tentatively I reach out for you so that I may rest in your grasp and lean into your way of being until I am whole in you. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Eastertide
May 24, 2014

Scripture Reading: Genesis 8:13-19 

Then God said to Noah, ‘Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh—birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.’ — Genesis 8:15-17 

My mother would have been 106 today. It does not seem possible that she has now been gone for seven years. Although I miss her, she did bless our lives for almost 99 years. One of those blessings for me was her dedication to the care of the earth. In her later years, my brother would stop by her little house every afternoon on his coffee break just to make sure all was well. One day he pulled into the drive and saw her lying in the grass. Expecting the worse, he walked over to her and I guess the sound of his footsteps awakened her. She sat up and spoke to him. He demanded to know what she was doing, had she fallen. “No” she said, “I was pulling weeds and got a little tired so I decided to just lie in the grass in the sun. Guess I fell asleep.”

Unlike my brother and sister, I did not inherit my mother’s love of working in the garden or even flower beds for that matter, but I did inherit a great sense that she took seriously God’s instructions for humans to care for the earth. We all need to take this seriously.

In our scripture today, the story of Noah building the ark and saving his family and all living creatures from the flood draws to an end. The water has receded and now it is time to get back to the business of assuring that all flesh may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply. God gave humans a second chance.

The issues impacting life on the earth are more complex today and require us to search for new ways of living that will sustain life into the future. I, for one, would rather do that now then wait for a cataclysmic disaster to force us into doing our job as stewards of the earth later. We might not get that second chance.

Prayer: Holy Gardener, you planted the first seeds and tended the first harvest teaching us to care for the earth. Guide us in this task and give us the will to accept the challenge. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Eastertide
May 23, 2014

Scripture Reading: Acts 27:13-38 

Just before daybreak, Paul urged all of them to take some food, saying, ‘Today is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense and remaining without food, having eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will help you survive; for none of you will lose a hair from your heads.’ After he had said this, he took bread; and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. Then all of them were encouraged and took food for themselves. (We were in all two hundred and seventy-six persons in the ship.) After they had satisfied their hunger, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.— Acts 27:33-38

 Yesterday we got a hint of what was coming on Paul’s journey to Rome. Today we must deal with the full force of that disaster.

I am well acquainted with disaster. One year ago on May 20, 2013 the largest tornado in the recorded history of Oklahoma weather cut a path of destruction across central Oklahoma that was particularly devastating for Moore, Ok. Seven children were killed in one elementary school. Twenty-five people were killed in all.  By any standards, 25 was a small number of deaths after an F5 tornado with a path at times that was over a mile in width continued for 17 miles. It was still 25 too many deaths. Besides destroying two schools, the Moore hospital and many businesses and homes were gone after it had passed. While this was happening, I was sitting about ten miles away in my church with people who had taken shelter there. We watched that horrid storm on TV as it skirted Oklahoma City well south of where we were. It is a very strange mix of emotions being relieved that it did not strike us, while knowing the grave consequences facing those it did hit.

Paul gathers the starving, storm weary group of survivors on the shore after the shipwreck and serves communion. He ate the bread first before the others to show them that they needed to eat to survive. People in shock sometimes need such a simple act as watching someone breaking bread and eating it to regain their sense of self sufficiency.

If you or your congregation would like help in learning how to respond to disaster, a new book, Help and Hope Disaster Preparedness an Response Tools for Congregations edited  by Amy Gopp and Brandon Gilvin and published by Chalice Press is available on line at Barnes and Noble.

Prayer: Compassionate One, help us serve as your Body in the midst of disasters and recovery. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Eastertide
May 22, 2014

Scripture Reading: Acts 27:1-12 

Since much time had been lost and sailing was now dangerous, because even the Fast had already gone by, Paul advised them, saying, ‘Sirs, I can see that the voyage will be with danger and much heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.’ But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. — Acts 27:9-11 

Is it that we just don’t listen or that we listen and do not hear? In our scripture today Paul, under arrest, is being transported to Rome for trial. The trip was ill advised from the start having been started too late in the fall when the weather and currents would be even more dangerous factors. The Fast referred to here is Yom Kipper, the Day of Atonement. Rather ironic, don’t you think? The centurion is responsible for the prisoners. The pilot and the owner of the ship are responsible for the transportation. No one could blame the centurion for taking the advice of the pilot and the owner over a prisoner.

It appears the owner of the ship and probably the pilot too were suffering from a bad case of greed. I fear we all suffer from a touch of greed at one time or another in our lives. The problem with greed is that is puts blinders on its sufferers to the reality that surrounds them. Horses when harnessed to pull a plow or anything else get skittish when distracted by something that catches their eyes. So the farmer, wanting to keep the horses targeted on the task at hand, places shields called blinders on either side of the horses head to block out external stimuli. When making money or accumulating wealth becomes our sole focus we put on self-imposed psychological blinders until we do not see the dangers of our actions and do not listen to those who could help us see more clearly the outcomes of our tunnel vision. We call this greed.

If we read on in Acts, we will see that the owner and pilot suffered the consequences of their greed: shipwreck.  The ship was a total loss but by the grace of God no one was killed.  If the Captain of the ship had listened to the man of God in the first place, the shipwreck would never have happened.  The paradox is that when our eyes are focused on Jesus Christ, our vision and understanding is expanded to recognize the perils of life.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace. —Helen H. Lemmel

Prayer: God who is stronger than all our sins and proved it to us with the resurrection of Christ, free us from the bondage of our greed. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Eastertide
May 21, 2014

Scripture Reading: John 8:31-38

Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.’ — John 8:34-38 

I have been deeply disturbed recently about the trend in campaign ads of using what I call “playing the God card.” Don’t misunderstand me I want to know about the integrity of each individual running for office. I tend to judge that by what they actually have done not by what they say.

I do have a problem with candidates’ using God as an endorsement, whether directly or indirectly.  The Pharisees in the scripture for today are “playing the God card” they are saying they do not have to pay any attention to Jesus because he is the only witness to his testimony.  Jewish law required at least two witnesses. On the other hand, the Pharisees claim to be God’s people as was promised to their ancestor Abraham and have the full tradition of their heritage to witness to what they say.  They are not considering that Jesus is also a descendant of Abraham. Jesus essentially responds saying that the Pharisees do not “own” God, God rules them. God chose Abraham and God chose Jesus to bring God’s message to the entire world. God is his second witness.

As far as American politics are concerned, I think another Abraham said it best—Abraham Lincoln:  Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.

Prayer: God, guide us to understand and live on your side as the diversity of people who call ourselves Christians live and function in civil society. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Eastertide
May 20, 2014

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 3:5-12 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
   and do not rely on your own insight….
My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
   or be weary of his reproof,
for the Lord reproves the one he loves,
   as a father the son in whom he delights.— Proverbs 3:5, 11-12

The scripture today does not say that your own insights are bad, or good for that matter. Rather, it implies that we need to have a means to test our insights for their veracity. When we hold our thoughts and feelings up to the light of the Lord we gain clarity.

Many years ago I was in a meeting with five or six people, including my immediate supervisor and a man who seemed to be dedicated to putting me in my place at every turn. I believed it was because he did not think women should serve in roles of authority. I believe today that that was an accurate analysis and, in all honesty, I think my supervisor agreed with me. My adversary not only was direct in his attacks but also used subtle body language and other passive/aggressive behavior to make his point. At this meeting while I was making a very important presentation, he got up from his chair and proceeded to pace back and forth behind me and to my left. It was very distracting and I finally called him by name and said, “Would you please sit down.” He did. Afterward my supervisor told me, in the privacy of his office, that this was the man’s first day back after having serious hemorrhoid surgery. It was still painful for him to sit.

I learned an important lesson that day about not generalizing insights and not letting my own insecurities interfere in my ability to love all of my neighbors as I love myself. I also learned the value of timely and very wise words spoken by one who cared enough about me to help me grow professionally.

Prayer: God who is Love, thank you for loving me so much that you discipline me when I need 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Eastertide
May 19, 2014

Scripture Reading: Exodus 13:17-22 

The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. — Exodus 13:21-22

 Have you ever wished for explicit guidance like the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night that the Israelites followed as they left Egypt? My guess is that most of us have wished for such clear guidance.  My guess also is that while God might nudge us a bit one way or another, God expects us to practice the teachings of Jesus and get on about the task of being the Body of Christ in the world with the full faith that our Advocate, the Holy Spirit, is just as present to us in our daily walk as the cloud and the fire were with the Israelites on their journey.

What may be the more important aspect of our walk with the Lord is action.  I think if God gets even a hint that we are engaged in God’s service, the Advocate is engaged with us. Such engagement may begin with prayer and study. It may move through acquainting ourselves with the needs of our neighbors and how those needs might best be met. We then might seek others who share our concern. Together we might initiate a plan to meet the need. At each step the Advocate tracks right along with us giving guidance as needed.

The Advocate is a dynamic entity. I wonder what this Holy Spirit does while waiting for us to start our engines and shift our gears from park to drive? It might vex the Advocate mightily, if we are found unengaged, not using our talents and skills to the furtherance of the Kingdom of God. What do you think?

Prayer: Come Holy Spirit, dwell with me. I am ready to serve, although I don’t feel adequately prepared. Give me the courage and strength to grow into my role 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Eastertide
May 18, 2014

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. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died. And Saul approved of their killing him. — Acts 7:55-60; 8:1a

Even one of the greatest evangelists of the church got it wrong at times. We know him as Paul, who described himself as a late coming apostle. At Stephan’s stoning, he was Saul holding faithfully to what he believed and acting on it. He was a leader of the synagogue who had done all the right things according to tradition but suddenly the paradigm shifted mightily and it took a direct encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus for Saul to make the transition.

John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace was a slave trader making a mint off of selling humans when he was struck by how out of synch he was with God and totally turned his life around. Chuck Colson was one of the Watergate 7 known as the “hatchet man.” In his mind, He was only doing what everybody else in politics were doing, whatever it took to get his candidate elected and keep him in office. Colson was sent to prison for his white collar mischief. While in prison, he came to terms with his life and became a great witness to the grace and love of God.

Discerning the will of God for our lives is particularly hard when it has to compete with our own misplaced desires.  Communing with God requires our letting go of false senses of wellbeing so that we can experience being who we really are.

Prayer: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. –Psalm 51:10

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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Eastertide
May 17, 2014

Scripture Reading: Psalm 31 

My times are in your hand;
   deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
   save me in your steadfast love.  — Psalm 31: 15-16

In the childhood of our faith, we often pray for God’s presence to shine upon us, and take care of us. A practice most of us continue throughout our lives. It is the beginning of faith. I broadened the lectionary reading for today to include all of Psalm 31 because it goes on to describe the maturing of faith as in verse 22 where the Psalmist prays blessings upon the Lord for showing his steadfast love at a time of fear. What we see is an ever deepening relationship between the Psalmist and God.

As I write this, some 260 Nigerian school girls, Christians, have been abducted by radical Muslims to be used as pawns in the battle for power in that country. A picture has been released showing several of them now dressed in traditional Muslim clothing with only their faces showing. Face after face depicts only pure shock. They are apparently being brainwashed and forced to make the frightening choice of renouncing their faith or unknown, but surely dire, consequences, for example being sold as child brides.

We surely grieve God greatly when we, the faith descendants of Abraham, carry forward hate-filled and retaliatory actions. The Muslims want their brothers returned to them who have been taken as prisoners of war. How do we heal such deep and ancient wounds so that all of God’s children can live together as one and be a blessing to each other?

The answer is in our Psalm today. We must be able to let God’s face shine upon us in our proper role of servant. When all of us on all sides can relinquish our prejudices to God and let God’s steadfast love flow through us to each other, we will rejoice in God’s presence. In the meantime, we must build bridges of understanding and communications that dispel fears and increases mutual respect, letting that respect grow into love. Impossible, I believe, without the abiding grace and guidance of the God of love.

Prayer: O, Love that will not let us go, let your love flow through and among us and our leaders in government so that these precious lives can be saved and we can grow in your love so that these type reprisals never happen again. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.