Tag Archives: Body of Christ

Darkness into Light

Living in the Spirit

St. Teresa of Avila

November 17, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Colossians 1:11-20

May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. –Colossians 1:1-14

The power of darkness surrounds us. What happens in the dark? I carried one of my mother’s boxes of genealogy information into my living room to find some information for one of my cousins. I left it next to where I was sitting when I went to bed because I needed to dig into it more. The following day as I stumbled through my very familiar house to turn on the lamp next to my favorite chair, my toes slammed into that box. It really hurt as stubbed toes usually do. I hopped around and said bad words as I got the lamp on. The pain soon subsided, but my familiar world had lost its certainty.

Our world, our country has been engulfed in unexpected darkness for several years if we include climate change. We time things to COVID, but it really began before then. We want someone to fix everything. What we are not yet ready to accept is that Christ sent us forth to work toward providing a lighted world as his partners in service. We have already been transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son. He has shown us the way. We seem not to be able to accept fully his vision of the beloved community. We prefer our own vision. That has resulted in division and a divide-and-conquer world. We play around the edges doing the things we have always done, but we do not step out into the darkness and shine God’s light throughout the world. Where do we go from here? How do we get in sync with God’s vision and how it is to be realized?

Prayer: Lord, you called us to be the light of the world; give us the courage to step out in faith and follow your vision.  Amen.

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

Being the Body of Christ

Living in the Spirit

July 22, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19)

Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. –Colossians 2:16-19

Paul got that right. The earthly observations of his day have indeed been supplemented over the years by hundreds and thousands of equally absurd practices and beliefs that distract us from being the Body of Christ in the world today. I am stunned by the singularity of our outrage regarding issues that have simple solutions if we cared to use them. Most abortions could be prevented by the availability of quality, affordable and accessible health care, raising the minimum wage to a living wage, and providing quality public education that prepares children for adulthood and good-paying jobs.

I got off the plane with my choir many years ago at an airport in Sweden and rushed with my group to the nearest restroom as is often the case with people getting off planes. I was surprised to see that there were no designated male and female restrooms. Each of the stalls was enclosed for privacy and each contained appropriate plumbing for men and women. The only thing shared was the sinks to wash one’s hands. The long line moved very quickly, and no one had to worry about sharing a restroom with anyone.

We are called to be the Body of Christ in the world today with an assignment to begin and continue the work of creating the beloved community, the Kingdom of God. That requires us to remove ourselves from the shadows of worldly judgments and live in the light of Christ’s loving example.

Prayer: Lord, write on our hearts your desire for our work and strengthen our will and our bodies to carry it out. Amen.

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

All Together

In the Spirit

June 4, 2022

Scripture Reading:

John 14:8-17, (25-27)

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 14:8-13

Are we doing the works that Jesus did? Indeed, Jesus came to us as God incarnate, but we were all made in the image of God and apparently gifted in some way to do some part of the works as Jesus did. Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11:  

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.

We are not called to do everything, but we are called to do something. Jesus called us all together (1 Corinthians 27) to be the Body of Christ in the world today. Using each of our gifts to God’s service, together becomes more than the sum of our parts.

Prayer: Lord, help us to discover our gifts, and use them as our part of your Body. 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.

Distraction

Ordinary Time

January 8, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ –Luke 3:15-17

One of the advantages of having grown up on a farm is understanding what things like chaff are. Chaff is all the stuff that engulfs seeds or the fruits of harvesting grain that must be removed to take full advantage of those fruits. In ancient times, crops harvested from the fields were processed to remove all that clutter no longer used. Often that meant tossing the seeds into the air where the winds blew the lighter chaff away. Threshing machines and combines eventually were invented to clear it out. It was considered waste and was often burned where it was collected.

The above scripture leaves the impression that this activity is a one-time venture, and it is regarding wheat seeds at each harvest. However, we humans tend to gather the trash of life like dust being removed one day and reappearing the next. Therefore, we must be very intentional about removing the distractions from our lives that keep us from fulfilling our calling and purpose.

Distraction has become a mainstay of modern politics. I recently posted some information about poverty on a social media site, starting with quoting the low unemployment rate that had just been announced for Oklahoma. The remainder of the piece described how full employment would not end poverty in our world today. Though superfluous, the arguments discredited my knowledge, even though what I had written was correct and probably stopped readers from seeing the data on poverty. I heard political analyst John Dickerson on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (1-6-2022) saying that this distraction process was an intentional assault of those who want us to question everything while driving home unsubstantiated information.

Jesus cautioned us 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. Wise words for the world we live in today.

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage and strength to be your Body in the world today. Amen.

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

Being the Body of Christ

Living in the Spirit

October 23, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 10:46-52

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Among the crowd following Jesus, many sternly ordered [the blind man] to be quiet. Jesus’s response was to tell the followers to call him here. Wouldn’t it make more sense for Jesus to call Bartimaeus to him so that the blind man could follow the sound of Jesus’ voice? Was Jesus gently putting his followers in their place for not caring about the blind beggar’s plight? They most likely also had to clear a path and guide Bartimaeus to Jesus.

Do we place our personal experience being the church above our call to be the Body of Christ in our world today? Working together in communities of faith is essential to being the Body of Christ. Still, we must be careful not to get so caught up in being the gathering and sharing parts of the Body of Christ we forget about reaching out: feeding, healing, teaching people; providing safe water while otherwise protecting our environment; welcoming strangers; and restoring prisoners.

My local District Attorney, supported by our State Attorney General, requested that two of the Pardon and Parole Board members be removed because they believe in what I call restorative justice. The two prosecutors even pointed out that the faith of one of the two impacted his viewpoints.  The issue arose when this new Attorney General took steps to reactivate the death penalty in Oklahoma. Suddenly, five men on death row are being scheduled for execution and must have their final appearance before the Pardon and Parole Board. The question is not what Jesus would do, but how do we respond since we wear his shoes?

Prayer: Lord, let your Spirit give us the courage to love like you and serve like 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Oneness

Eastertide

April 6, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Acts 4:32-35
Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

God created a diverse world with all kinds of plants, animals, and people. God said that all of it was good. From the dawn of creation until today, our challenge is working together as a diverse people in one heart and soul. That one heart and soul is the Body of Christ in the world today, of which we are invited to become a part. Following Jesus’ bodily exit from the earth, we were blessed with the gift of the Holy Spirit that binds all creation together. God knows all of our skills and potential to use our talents to the Glory of God in actualizing God’s Kingdom. We mock the wisdom of the Spirit when we chose to fight among ourselves rather than investing in the energy needed to work together.

I have never quite understood Jesus’ warning that the only unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit*. I think it somehow ties into our failure to be one heart and soul. I am also not sure how forgiveness relates to redemption. In pondering this, I remember John Newton’s story, the author of the hymn Amazing Grace. He was a slave runner delivering people removed from Africa to lives of bondage when circumstances led him to repent of this sin. He did turn around and spent the rest of his life in service to God. I doubt that he ever forgave himself, but he did recognize God’s amazing grace.

We, too, are called to turn around from anything that is limiting our work in creating a world where all live in one heart and soul.

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
  That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
  Was blind, but now I see.

‘ Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
  And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
  The hour I first believed**!

Prayer: Lord, you have told us that a house divided against itself cannot stand***. Empower us through your spirit to turn around from divisiveness and turn toward oneness to your glory.  Amen.

*See Matthew 12: 31-32, Luke 12:10, and Mark 3:29
**First and second verse of the hymn Amazing Grace by John Newton see all https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/313

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.

Jesus as Healer

Discipleship

February 6, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 1:29-39

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. –Mark 1: 29-34

We are called to be the Body of Christ in the world today. Jesus was a healer of both physical and mental illnesses. While we may not possess the ability to lay our hands on someone and heal them, we continue to be called to bring health-wholeness into the lives of all people. We are now caught in a world more concerned with making a profit on health care than keeping people healthy.

54% of Americans with medical debt have no other debts.
Around 530,000 families file for bankruptcy due to medical expenses, every year.
Medical bankruptcies represent 62% of all personal bankruptcies.
20% of all medical bankruptcy filers are people over the age of 55.
20.1% of families who file for medical bankruptcy are military families.
48% of those who filed for medical bankruptcy say hospital bill was their largest expense.
70% of Americans with medical bills had to lower their spending on food to avoid bankruptcy*.

Making quality, essential health care available to all people benefits everyone. We are seeing that now as COVID-19 spreads across our world. We also experience it in routine health care provision. For example, a 47-year-old man with no insurance is so sick he is not able to work. He finally goes to an emergency center in acute pain and is diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. He dies three months later. Payment for his care will be written into the hospital’s operational cost, which will eventually be factored into everyone’s hospital payments. Not only was his emergency treatment expensive, but a family lost its primary breadwinner, and the community lost a much-needed skilled laborer. Those adverse outcomes would not have happened if he had received routine preventive health services along the way, including a colonoscopy.

Prayer: Lord, broaden our vision to see creative ways to meet our world’s health care needs using efficient and effective practices and heal us of the greed that holds us back from implementing them. Amen.

* https://spendmenot.com/blog/medical-bankruptcy-statistics/

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.

Self-evaluation

Epiphany

January 22, 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.

Paul realized that we would not know the time of Jesus’ return. While he noted that the appointed time has grown short, he indicated it did not matter because our commitment to Christ is from now on. That still applies today.  I confess the second coming is not something that concerns me. I have even jokingly said that Christ might be waiting for us to do our work in building God’s Kingdom before he returns. Of this, I am sure God is calling us to be the Body of Christ in the world today, and I think when Christ returns, he would like to rejoice in our progress fulfilling that call.

 Do we really understand what it means to be the Body of Christ? Perhaps as we start a new year, hopefully, we will reach the apex of COVID and soon be conquering it. We are experiencing a change of federal leadership, a good time to be reminded what it means to be a part of the Body of Christ. There are many ways to do that. Re-reading the four gospels and seeing how Jesus modeled his love for us might be an excellent place to start. Several years ago, I read about a meditation practice where one puts themselves in the role of people in Bible stories and envision how we would respond to Jesus. I wonder if it might be beneficial for us to put ourselves in Jesus’ role. What would we have said to the foreign women who asked Jesus to heal her daughter (Matthew 15:21–28)?  What would we tell the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-27)?  Try it. Be honest. Try to envision some of these characters in our world today. How would Jesus respond to them?

Prayer: Lord, let this winter be a time of self-evaluation to see how closely we follow your example. Amen.

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

Being the Body of Christ

Advent

November 29, 2020

Scripture Reading: Mark 13:24-37

‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.’ –Mark 13:32-37

I read the book Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance shortly after it was published. It is a good book, a challenging read because it delves into how our upbringing shapes us for better or worse. Netflix just released the movie, which I think captured that idea well. My Dad was obsessed with the second coming. He followed the teachings of one of the radio preachers of the 1950s. You know the type. They end their program with a promise that if we follow their teachings, we will be saved and the address where to send your contributions. Dad signed up for the correspondence courses they offered, and I drew the assignment of reading them out loud to my parents. The documents were printed with the words the minister thought were the most important in bold type. My teenage rebellion was never to emphasize what they darkened. That experience made me overly cautious regarding interpreting scripture. It took me years and some quality guidance to read Daniel and Revelation for the wisdom they offered. I feel blessed now to have gleaned from those readings the need to dig deep into the scriptural study and seek an array of understandings.

I share this background with you can decide if that background colors my response to the above scripture. I am a bit of a nut on investing energies in doing my part as the Body of Christ in the world today and let Christ worry about the end of days. I think that is what he is saying here. Followers of Christ are called to be verbs, not nouns.

But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. — James 1:22-25

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we describe ourselves as Christian and think we have completed our work here on earth. Make us doers of the Word following the example of Jesus. 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 is Faithful

Advent

November 28, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God is faithful. In our world today, we have few, if any other, absolutes to grasp. Our federal government is in shambles, divided so deep we see no means of rising above the discord. Self-righteousness has replaced justice. Once our Supreme Court decided that corporations had all the rights of a person, the door was opened for money being poured into campaigns enticing voters to select options that were against their best interest. The rich got richer. The number of persons classified as poor grew greater

Corinth, too, had its fair share of discord and division when Paul first wrote to them. Yet, he opened the letter with the salutation that they were already equipped to deal with the array of problems they faced because God is faithful. God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to strengthen us and guide us in reshaping the world in the ways of God, the faithful one. Nowhere does Paul suggest that such a mission would be easy. He simply says we are graced with what it takes to make it happen.

One of our first challenges is bringing the Body of Christ together to find common ground. The early church was very divided on many things. The one thing they agreed on was helping the poor. We might start there, too.

Prayer: Faithful God, weave us together as we strive to be the Body of Christ in our world today. 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.