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Curious Agnostics

Living in the Spirit

June 14, 2021

Scripture Reading: Job 38:1-11

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Gird up your loins like a man,
   I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
   Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
   Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
   or who laid its cornerstone
when the morning stars sang together

   and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?

‘Or who shut in the sea with doors
   when it burst out from the womb?—
when I made the clouds its garment,
   and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed bounds for it,
   and set bars and doors,
and said, “Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
   and here shall your proud waves be stopped”?

Having had a hectic week, I was ready to kick back and watch a movie. Angels & Demons was available. Although I have seen it several times, it was a good choice. It is the story of a professor who specializes in symbolism, particularly that of religions. He is contacted to help the Catholic church deal with a problem that demanded his skills. At one point in the movie, a church representative asked him if he believed in God. He stumbled around responding and demonstrated that he was a curious agnostic.  The above scripture challenges those of us to say one way or another whether we have faith that there is a God. If we come done on the side that says yes, there is a God, then we must deal with the question: where are we in our relationship with and service to God?

The interesting thing about this series of movies, starting with the Da Vinci Code, is that it is almost impossible to tell who the good people are and who the bad people are until the very end. My book club recently read, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep: A Novel, which addresses the same question. How far afield can we go in our attempts to serve God when we invest much of our energies in defining God in an image of our own making. But, unfortunately, Job and his pals had become tangled in separating their idea of God from God.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in the search for understanding how we dwell with you in fuller understanding, resulting in our having a better understanding of who we are. 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.

Biased and Incomplete History

Living in the Spirit

June 9, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
   to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
   and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
   to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
   at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
   and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
   they flourish in the courts of our God.
In old age they still produce fruit;
   they are always green and full of sap,
showing that the Lord is upright;
   he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

I concur with the idea that In old age they still produce fruit. My mother certainly lived this example. I must say I may not always be green and full of sap. But, I hope and pray that I am showing that the Lord is upright. How we live and what we say make a difference. It saddens me that the USA’s percentage identifying as Christian has dropped markedly over the past two decades. I think a significant cause of the decline is we who call ourselves Christian do not live what we preach, and we do not emphasize what Jesus taught.

One of the classes we offered people receiving public assistance years ago included a segment on the fear of change. The teacher encouraged the participants to imagine two paths they could follow. One represents their lives as they are currently living and the other side seems to be a dark, scary, unknown one where one cannot be sure of what will happen. They were asked to consider what was good and not so good about their current life. They were then asked to discern what they would need in that unknown side to reduce the not-so-good. If those things were available on the unknown path, would they choose to take that path?

We stand at that crossroads every day as we practice our faith. I find it interesting how fearful we as a nation are about accepting the fact that our history is not what we were taught. Of what are we afraid? In John 8:31-32, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ We can never fully grasp the good news of Jesus Christ if we can only view it through the filters of biased or incomplete history.

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage to see ourselves as you see us. Create in us clean hearts and rights spirits. 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.

Adopted

Eastertide

May 21, 2021

Scripture Reading: Romans 8:12-17
So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our Spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

I enjoy the Finding Your Roots program on PBS. That should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me and my fascination with genealogy. Tracing the ancestry of slaves in the USA gets dicey before the Civil War because they were most often treated as animals in formal documents with no names listed. Their age, sex, and financial worth are usually all that is recorded. Occasionally, searchers are surprised to find where a slave owner had legally freed a slave. Even rarer, following the Civil War, some slave owners deeded land to former slaves to start them on their way to self-sufficiency like they would their child. I thought of that when I read this sentence in the above scripture: For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption.

There is something incredibly special about adoption. Perhaps the circumstances of needing to be adopted are painful, but having parents seal their acceptance and love for one by their choice through adoption is life-changing. As Paul describes it here, God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is that seal of acceptance. Some come to accept the love of God from a loving family with God as its center. Others stumble into discovering God in a drug treatment center or prison or a sudden realization that living the good life is not living much at all. God accepts us as we are, adopts us, and blesses us with the presence of that Spirit. We may not know what the next moment may bring, but we will always know God will be with us no matter what.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for accepting us just as we are and providing the guidance we need to become all that we can be. 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.

Working Together

Eastertide

May 10, 2021

Scripture Reading: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about one hundred and twenty people) and said, ‘Friends, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit through David foretold concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus— for he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.‘

So one of the men who have accompanied us throughout the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us to his resurrection.’ So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then they prayed and said, ‘Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.’ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

The Disciples must have understood that Jesus selected 12 of them for a reason. Thus, after Judas’ death, the 11 remaining determined that they needed to choose someone to fill Judas’ spot. Having worked in administrative positions for years, I know the outcomes of being one person short, particularly when saving money resulted in routinely being understaffed. In most work environments, each person has particular skills crucial to the smooth completion of the work. For example, Paul describes the various gifts of the Spirit among Christians in 1 Corinthians 12. The understanding is that we all possess such gifts, and it is essential that we use them for the glory of God and the fulfillment of God’s vision of a Kingdom ruled by love.

Our job is to discern the role we are to play in that process, hone the skills we must use to the best of our ability, and work in sync with others as they share their gifts. That sentence was so easy to write but often so hard to actualize. Working with others also takes special skills. Working together as God’s servants requires us to connect regularly with the Spirit to mold us together in oneness.

Prayer:
Weave, weave, weave us together,
Weave us together in unity and love.
Weave, weave, weave us together,
Weave us together, together in love*. Amen.

Chorus from the song Weave by Rosemary Crow. See it at http://awe.mudcat.org/@displaysong.cfm?SongID=10306

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.

Loving the Hater

Eastertide

April 29, 2021

Scripture Reading: 1 John 4:7-21

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. —1 John 4:7-12

The news reported this morning that a small town in Oklahoma with about 3,000 residents found nearly half the town papered with notices inviting participation in the KKK. A few other towns had similar experiences. The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified 12 hate groups in Oklahoma, from racist skinheads to Neo-Nazis. I find it ironic that some are also identified as being affiliated with various faith groups. Guess they had not read John 4.

What is hate?

  1. intense hostility toward an object (as an individual) that has frustrated the release of an inner tension (as of a biological nature)
  2. an habitual emotional attitude in which distaste is coupled with sustained ill will
  3. a strong dislike or antipathy*

What causes hate? What are the benefits of hating? Freud related depression resulting from anger turned inward, as a reaction to being hurt. Every human is unique, and no other human can know how some behavior or words might impact another. Bullied by a girl in grade school, I was reminded of her every time I meet someone who shares her name. I could have projected my hurt and fears caused by being bullied on those who shared her name, never knowing why. I hope I did not recoil from anyone because of my history with one person because they shared her name. As I look back on her, I now remember a large girl who had been held back a couple of years in school and was the source of teasing by older children on the playground.

Hating is a means of establishing self-worth when for whatever reason, a person never had or has lost the relationships that foster a love of oneself. Jesus commanded us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves**. That may involve loving our neighbors until they love themselves.

Prayer: Lord, you love us despite our sins and gave your life to free us from their bondage. Empower us to love like you love to help others understand what love is. Amen.

*https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/hate
**See Mark 12:31

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.

Fake News and False Prophets

Discipleship

January 25, 2021

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. This is what you requested of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said: ‘If I hear the voice of the Lord my God any more, or ever again see this great fire, I will die.’ Then the Lord replied to me: ‘They are right in what they have said. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable. But any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded the prophet to speak—that prophet shall die.’

Fake news is an overwhelming force in our society today. As we see from the scripture above, fake news has existed at least since Moses. God assures us God will hold those who participate in spreading fake news accountable. What do we do in the meantime? Fake news comes in many variations. Some of it is just pure fiction from start to finish. If it is repeated enough by various sources, fake news can take on a life of its own. Then we have words taken out of context or only portions of a statement representing the opposite of what the person was intending. How do we find and follow ethical communications? How do we assure we do not believe something we hear because it is what we want rather than what is? How do we communicate with one another when we take in information with markedly different understandings? How do we love all of God’s children when we rest our entire worth and understanding of God on differing worldviews?

First and foremost, we must define our ethics-moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity*. Moses brought the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) to the Israelites; Jesus instructed his followers to love God and love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). If we take steps to assess information honestly, much of it falls in the category of fake news when it fails to meet the standards of these two sources of ethical behavior. For example, fake news is often designed to fulfill greed.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in finding your moral center and adapting it to become ours. Amen.

*https://www.google.com/search?q=ethics&rlz=1C1CHZN_enUS922US922&oq=ethics&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i433j46i175i199j0i131i433j0i395i433l2j0i131i395i433j0i395i433.1863j1j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

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

Make Us One

Epiphany

January 21, 2021

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

The “I mean” phrase refers to instructions on whether people should marry at that time of the continuing role out of God doing a new thing* through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, including his instructions to take this new thing to the whole earth. The scripture above stresses the urgency of the task ahead. It is like the experience of being forced to decide in a split second what is essential when fleeing from a flood, tornado, or fire. Yet 1 Corinthians was probably written 20 years after Jesus’ Resurrection. We share that same urgency today.

 I write this as the United States of America inaugurates a new President bringing a new thing to our governance as defined by the Constitution. We live in a nation founded on the government’s principle, even include in our name, of working in unity very much modeled after the instructions that Jesus gave his disciples to work toward being one** as the right way, the just way to live in God’s love. Yet our country is very divided, as is the Body of Christ, and those two realities somehow have been woven together.

Christ-followers continue to be called by God to be one That will require us to take on a new thing as we cease tearing the body of Christ apart like dogs tugging at either end of a bone. Christ called us to live our love as a model to the whole world. [T]he appointed time has grown short. We must repent and be redeemed to take on the undaunting task of modeling for the world the Body of Christ loving each other and loving all others as Jesus loved.

Prayer: Lord, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit make us one in your love.  Amen.

*See Isaiah 43:19
**John 17:18-23

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.

Living on the Plain

Living in the Spirit

October 20, 2020

Scripture Reading:

Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

You shall not render an unjust judgement; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

We quote the phrase love your neighbor as yourself easily and regularly. We fail to remember the admonitions that are summarized in this commandment. I am writing this amid the political ads that are bombarding us leading up to the 2020 election. They are no different than the ones we have heard in the past. Many are designed to divide and conquer.

God calls us to live on a level plain, where all are judged the same, where hate has no place in our hearts. Having worked for years with and for the poor, I was interested in the phrase shall not be partial to the poor. When the poor are poor because they are working hard but not paid a living wage, it is not partial to correct that situation. It is doing justice. The poor do need to take responsibility for themselves in every way they can. Our helping them become the people God created them to be is also doing justice.

Isaiah describes it well,

Every valley shall be lifted up
   and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
   and the rough places a plain. — Isaiah 40:4

Prayer: Lord, help us see your image in each person we encounter and make that our starting place in our interactions with 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.

Family of God

Living in the Spirit

August 3, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28

The man said, ‘They have gone away, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.” ’ So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’ But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, ‘Let us not take his life.’ Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him’—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. Genesis 37:17-28

Being born into a family results in having to deal with one another, whether we like each other, or we do not. Clearly, Joseph’s brothers were not fond of the one they saw as their father’s pet. Their reaction took them to the extreme, selling him into slavery. I guess that was better than killing him. I am a member of a family, have worked with troubled families, and have observed all manner of families as they interacted. My father’s family was a yours, mine, and our family as were most of the families in the time of Jacob. In that case, they had the same father but several different mothers. The thing about families is that their intrinsic connectedness can never be changed. We must learn to co-exist in love or face the consequences.

The Greek language has at least three descriptions of love: eros, which is erotic love, Philadelphia –sibling love (also the source word of philanthropy), and agape—divine love, which is Godlike love goodwill for all.  Agape love is what Jesus calls us to practices, which I believe is woven into every kind of love when we accept the ways of Christ. It requires us to invest ourselves in learning to love our spouses, siblings, and our neighbors as God loves us. That requires an investment of time and energy and self-examination, helping us to understand our relationships and ourselves better. Once we can love ourselves as God loves us, we can more easily learn to love others.

Prayer: Lord, teach us to love like you as we work to build a world ruled by your 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.

Thriving among the Weeds

Living in the Spirit

July 19, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

He put before them another parable: ‘The Kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ –Matthew 13:24-30

Raised on a farm, I have pulled my fair share of weeds. Pulling older weeds with robust root systems can indeed be harmful to more delicate plants. Removing weeds when they first appear can prevent them from reaching that more mature stage. In that case, one must know the difference between a weed and a fruitful plant. Life is never as straightforward as we desire.

Evil is a paradox. It appears to be simpler than its alternative, more attractive, and readily available. When evil entangles us, our lives spiral deeper and deeper into an ugly complexity that we cannot shed. Yet in the world, evil is all about us. We must learn to grow in wisdom and truth in its midst. Our challenge is discerning evil from righteousness, producing God’s good fruit among those smothering weeds. Jesus said in Matthew 10:16, ‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

We live in trying times full of divisiveness, even hate. Getting up every day in a world where loving God and doing our best to love like Jesus is challenged in every direction is hard work. It sometimes seems hopeless. But God is not finished yet, and thus our work goes on weeds or no weeds.

Prayer: Lord, strengthen us for the facing of this day and every day until your Kingdom comes in its fullness. 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.