Category Archives: Uncategorized

Good vs Evil

Living in the Spirit

July 5, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

‘But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another,
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
   we wailed, and you did not mourn.”

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.’

‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ –Matthew 11:`6-19, 28-30

Good unites, includes, is equitable, and uplifts. Evil divides, excludes, discriminates, and oppresses. We have a choice of whether to do good or to do evil. Most likely, we stir evil and good together, some more some less, until we cannot tell where one begins and the other ends. We pick our sins primarily based on what is culturally acceptable rather than what God sets forth as God’s ways. Buying elections and cheating on our taxes is the American way. Being the wrong color in possession of a small amount of drugs could send you to prison for 20 years.

I am weary and carrying a heavy burden as I watch the battle for the soul of our country, even the whole world. I fall back on Micah 6:8, what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? I am far from perfect at it, but I turn to it when making choices. Jesus, however, sums it up nicely when he says his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. When all the world does justice, loves kindness, and walks humbly with God, our load will be lifted. Our call is to make doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God the reality across the globe.

Prayer: Lord, restore our souls as we strive to realize your Kingdom 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.

Prisoner of Hope

Living in the Spirit

July 3, 2020

Scripture Reading: Zechariah 9:9-12
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
   Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
   triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
  on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
   and the warhorse from Jerusalem;
and the battle-bow shall be cut off,
   and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
   and from the River to the ends of the earth.

As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
   I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
   today I declare that I will restore to you double.

Oklahoma has some of the worst rankings regarding criminal justice in the world. We are working on it gradually correcting some tough-on-crime laws passed a few years ago that did not reduce crime but did increase our incarceration costs. Worse yet, it may have targeted some into lives of crime that would not have followed that path had they received appropriate attention.

I am not exactly sure what Zechariah was referring to when he wrote those words, prisoners of hope, but my thoughts immediately went to those actual prisoners walking out into the world. I wonder if they have hope for a better life.  My fear is that prison has schooled them in crime rather than preparing them to become productive citizens. Our society can do better than that.

Of course, we Christ-followers read the first part of this scripture, and immediately envision Jesus’s triumphal entry riding a donkey into Jerusalem at the beginning of what we now call Holy Week. Jesus was a prisoner of hope. He died on a cross without committing any crime. He rose to be the restorer of hope to all who seek justice and righteousness.

Our society seems to be driven more by greed than hope in God. For-profit prisons must have a continuous flow of new inmates with long sentences to thrive. The military-industrial complex is dependent on war or the fear of war to make a profit. Health care costs in the USA have increased from 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1960 to 18 percent in 2018. We spend much more than other countries that have better health outcomes. The difference is the layers of profit that are now included in the costs of care. Our society can do better than that.

We are ideally a government led by the people on behalf of the people. Change starts with us. If our government is a reflection of us, we must ask, do we want to look like that? If not, what are we going to do about it?

Prayer: Lord, first help me take the log out of my own eye, so l can see clearly what needs to be done to develop a world of hope and 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.

Living in Harmony

Living in the Spirit

June 3, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
   In wisdom you have made them all;
   the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
   creeping things innumerable are there,
   living things both small and great.
There go the ships,
   and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. –Psalm 104:24-26

I am entering week three of critter control at my home. One lone squirrel remains in my attic. I think it entered the trap set last night. Hopefully, this squirrel will be returned to the wild today. The critters are here because of urban sprawl. Workers accidentally knocked open the door to my crawl space, welcoming hungry raccoons, possums, and at least one squirrel into the outer bounds of my house. The company removing the critters is very humane and uses exit cages on openings that let the animals leave but not return. When they examined my house, they discovered other possible entries that have now been sealed. The gateway out from my crawl space remains, but apparently, my squirrel friend is not aware that the exit exists. Yesterday the trap was set.

The moral of this story is that God created an interdependent world where all on earth must work in harmony to thrive. Whenever we allow our quest for wealth or privilege or power overcome our commitment to accepting our roles in an interdependent society that society is thrown off balance in varied destructive ways from the results of climate change to racism.

God also populated the earth with a diversity of people who together possess the skills and talents needed to sustain life and grow in wisdom and truth. For our world to work at the most fundamental level, we must work together, each making his or her contribution to society. God’s world is designed to function optimally when we love our neighbors as we love ourselves—all our neighbors all the time. Our wellbeing is based on the wellbeing of others. I think that is precisely what God intended.

Prayer: Lord, help us grow in wisdom and truth as we change our way of being to reflect your plan for a world fueled 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.

Called to Shepherd

Eastertide

April 18, 2020

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 20:19-23

What does John mean by retaining sins? It seems to imply that we all know what sin is and how it manifests itself in our world among people. I totally accept Jesus’s command not to judge, found in Matthew 7:1-3: ‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? One of my favorite things to say is, “God called me to love not to judge.”

Who am I to discern what is sin and who is meeting the definition of sin? I was taught that sin is missing the mark or being separated from God. For the everyday commissions of missing the mark, when I am the one wronged, I forgive the other, and when I am the one who missed the mark, once I realize what I have done, I try to always ask for forgiveness. Separation from God, though, seems to me to be between God and the person, including me.

Yet, with Jesus’s resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus passed his work on earth for us to do. Jesus also seems to think we are capable of doing the work. In fact, John 14:12-14 tells us:

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.

Retaining something means holding on to it, not letting it go. When we discover a person who is lost, we stay with him or her until he or she finds a safe place, finds their way home. Is not that the appropriate action when we discern that someone has lost their faith or have never known the love of God? We are not called to judge; we are called to shepherd people into a place where they can find their way home to God.

Prayer: Spirit of God fall afresh on all of us who love and serve you, equipping us to walk humbly with those you are calling us to shepherd back to your loving arms. 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.

Christ is Risen!

Easter

April 12, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 28:1-10
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.” This is my message for you.’ So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’

The gospels render the events of the resurrection differently. I have heard police inspectors say they are more suspicious of witnesses’ accounts that all match entirely than the ones that differ somewhat. We all remember events through the filters of our lives. What does seem to be consistent is fear, joy, and scant memories of Jesus saying something about coming back from death.

The other consistent messages were “Do not be afraid” and “go and tell.” Go and tell the disciples I am alive. Both instructions ring in our ears today. The commands still apply to be fearless disciples and to go and tell the whole world that Christ has Risen!

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for your incarnation, coming to dwell among us modeling wisdom and truth, and we thank you for the wonderous gift of your life, which brought us salvation and open the door to creating a world 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.

Loving without Hugging

Lent

March 23, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all round them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ –Ezekiel 37:1-6

Bones strewn around open ground first makes me think that a horrid battle had occurred where bodies had been left to rot some years back. They could also indicate other kinds of attack such as pestilence or disease. We daily watch the charts showing the number of deaths among peoples around the world rise markedly each day as we take more seriously our task of withdrawing from people so that the covid19 virus spreads less. Like me, most of us want to do something, anything to stop the spread of the disease and yet we are charged specifically with the inertia of avoiding crowds. I am writing this as I await my own church’s Facebook worship. I have seen inquiries on social media from pastors wondering what the new normal is regarding funerals where crowds are expected exchanging loving, comforting hugs.

I have heard only a few crazy theories about this virus’ causes and I do believe as Jesus taught that it rains on the just and the unjust*. I also think that every life challenge is a teaching moment. In this instance we are reminded again what is important and what is not. Oneness with all is not just a pipe dream but was/is the intentional creative spirit God planted in each of us at our creation and one we reject at our own peril. And we are never alone as God’s abiding presence surrounds us 24/7 for eternity.

Prayer: Lord, as we lose patience with awaiting the end of our current challenge remind us to learn from the experience, to recognize the wonder of Oneness, and to love you more dearly as you guide us through recovery because we are all in this together. Amen.

*Matthew 5:45

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.

Kingdom Building

September 25, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16

You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
   who abide in the shadow of the Almighty
will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress;
   my God, in whom I trust.’
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
   and from the deadly pestilence;
he will cover you with his pinions,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
   or the arrow that flies by day,
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
   or the destruction that wastes at noonday. –Psalm 91:14-16.

It takes courage to step out in faith, take a stand, push against the norms of society when it allows injustice. Jesus never said it would be easy. He did say he would be with us when we were pursuing our work toward his Kingdom. I think the Psalmist describes that well in the above verses. I have always loved the imagery of being protected under God’s wings I sang about as a child. The words in this Psalm is also a beautiful anthem I sang as an adult.

Singing these words seems to vanquish from my mind the horrors that it describes—snare of the fowler, deadly pestilence, terrors of the night, arrows that fly, destruction. I am naive to most of these threats while people all over the world face them routinely. What would drive me to leave my home and walk for miles without food or water to find safety for myself or my family? How desolate would I feel if I was turned away by those who might help? What if I became separated from my children not knowing if I would ever see them again? What if I was arrested and returned to the terror I fled?

I took heart when I read recently that the populations of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador were between 87 and 90 percent Christian as they are surely experiencing the shelter of God’s wings in one way or another. I believe the resurrection of Christ initiated the development of the Kingdom of God in our world and that we are called to be active participants in making that happen. The time for action is now wherever people are facing such horrors.

Prayer: I pray for those in harm’s way to feel the shelter of the Most High as they do face the horrors described. I pray for the courage to do my part to assuage the circumstances with which they must deal. I pray that all peoples of faith come together as one to answer God’s call to love. Amen.

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

Freewill

Kingdom Building

August 27, 2019

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 2:4-13

Therefore once more I accuse you,
says the Lord,
   and I accuse your children’s children.
Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
   send to Kedar and examine with care;
   see if there has ever been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
   even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
   for something that does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
   be shocked, be utterly desolate,
says the Lord,
   they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living water,
   and dug out cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns
   that can hold no water. –Jeremiah 2:9-13

What is it about human nature that makes us chase after lesser gods, idols the prophets of old would call them? Why if we had the choice of a fountain of living water would we dig a cracked cistern that can hold no water? And yet we do something similar all the time.

I suppose we could relate it to the trial and error learning that small children experience as they begin to crawl and then walk. Those children learn quickly what works and what does not. We adults are the ones who keep repeatedly doing the same wrong thing and getting the same wrong results.

God created us with free will; we honor God by using it advantageously to further God’s way of being on the earth, which is designed for the wellbeing of all.

Prayer: Gracious God, we thank you for the gift of your love allowing us the right to choose how we use this gift. Forgive us when we miss the mark and lead us back to your just path.

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.

Harvesting The Fruit of Love

Kingdom Building

August 12, 2019

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7

Let me sing for my beloved
   my love-song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
   on a very fertile hill.
He dug it and cleared it of stones,
   and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watch-tower in the midst of it,
   and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes,
   but it yielded wild grapes. –Isaiah 5:2-3

Wild grapevines are a perennial high-climbing vine, growing to 100 feet and clinging to whatever is available as they grow. Commonly found growing up into the forest canopy, wild grapevines attach themselves to tall trees with thin tendrils, or narrow, curling branches that wind around tree branches for support*.

Wild grapes grew wild (amazing as that may seem) on my family’s farm when I was a child. Preferring a little tartness in my sweets, I like wild grape jelly. Wild grapes are not a dependable fruit source like our pear tree was. Some seasons Mom could make a few jars of jelly from the wild grapes we harvested; other years there were none at all or only a few scraggly ones hanging from a tree. I thought for a long time they grew on the trees. Later I learned they were a separate plant just using the trees.

I fear our society is clinging to anything that meets our immediate desires regardless of the consequences of worshipping such lesser gods without thought for our wellbeing or the wellbeing of others. Lesser gods are more concerned with what they get from our relationship with them. The One True God the God of love always loves first and forever and always cares about all creation even each of us.

Perhaps Isaiah in our scripture today is using this illustration to caution the people of his day and us regarding our tendencies to cling to whatever is available* chasing after whatever entices our attention rather than reaping the harvest of God’s love in our lives. It takes a lot of work to care for a vineyard, weeding and pruning and harvesting. It takes intentionality of effort to grow a world ruled by love. We are all called to be a part of the effort, which will only reach full fruition if we strive for the oneness to which Christ calls us where he is the vine and we are the branches.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for loving us just as we are and for nurturing us when, we let you, to grow in spirit and in truth. Help us become conduits of your love. Amen.

*https://homeguides.sfgate.com/differences-between-wild-grape-vines-domesticated-vines-29825.html

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.

Privilege

Kingdom Building

July 2, 2019

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-14

So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, ‘I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?’ He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, ‘Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, “Wash, and be clean”?’ So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean. –2 Kings 5:9-14

It seems that what we now call privilege existed at least as far back as the 12th century BC. A man named Naaman coming to be healed from leprosy is insulted because the healer sent a messenger with the means of healing rather than coming himself. The man even thought his rivers were better than the Jordan! The problem with privilege is that it is so much a part of our very being we cannot discern that it exists. We cannot purge ourselves of privilege if we cannot see it. We cannot be one in Christ if we cannot rid ourselves of thinking we are intrinsically better than some of God’s other children.

The sad thing about privilege is that ultimately no one can live up to being better than anyone else and it leads to the need to set up artificial measures of worth that are meaningless, but that we incorporate them into our personas and our culture. Bullies are probably the best example of this.

God’s love is all we need and all anyone needs to be a person of worth and it is ours unconditionally. For those us who know and accept that we are called to share that good news with those who may not know God’s love.

Prayer:
Open my eyes that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.


Silently now I wait for Thee,
Ready, my God, Thy will to see;
Open my eyes, illumine me,
    Spirit Divine!* Amen

*First verse and chorus of Open my Eyes by Clara H. Scott https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/807

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.