Tag Archives: Body of Christ

Legacy

God with UsChristmas
December 25, 2014

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:22-40

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. — Luke 2:39-40

Of course, as with all births, Jesus’ birth was a beginning. It was the start of God come to earth. We struggle for words to describe this event and all that followed. We assign descriptive names to the baby attempting to understand the wonder of it all—Son of God, Prince of Peace, God with Us. And then we return to our regular routines of life just as Mary and Joseph did changed in ways we do not fully understand. Somehow we have been saved to make a difference. In my feeble attempt to grasp this reality, I distill this process of God with Us as striving for Wholeness, Oneness, and Justice. At least that is the perception I have of what Jesus did in his earthly ministry and what he calls those who chose to follow him to continue to do today and into the future. It is a circular process not linear. Wholeness leads to Oneness and Oneness leads to Justice and Justice in turn leads to Wholeness.

I have been struck throughout these days leading up to Christmas by the ads for a few movies being released here at the end of the year that speak to wholeness, oneness, and justice that may be worth our watching. I have not seen any of them, yet, but I hope to see them and thought you might want to also.

Unbroken is the true story of a young athlete, Louis Zamperini, who excelled in the 1936 Olympics. By the time the 1940 Olympics should have been held, the world was too caught up in war in which Zamperini served as a pilot, went down in the ocean, survived several days afloat in the ocean, and finally was taken prisoner where for two years he withstood the torture of being a prisoner of war. He survived, returned home, and was able to forgive his tormentors. It is a story of Wholeness.

Selma is the story of the civil rights marches in 1965 in the USA that were the catalyst for the Voting Rights Act passed that same year. It tells of the commitment of primarily people of faith to end by non-violent means the racially driven oppressive laws limiting voting in some parts of the country. These events resonate with the power of Oneness when the children of God come together for the right reasons. Particularly for those of us called to be the Body of Christ following Jesus’ resurrection, Oneness is pivotal.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the third and last movie depicting J.R. R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit. The book illustrates well the struggles between good and evil. Although it is fantasy; it is violent and of necessity requires us to wrestle with the place of war in our world, if there is a place for war. It is about Justice.

We as followers of Christ have choices to make about how we go about bringing Wholeness, Oneness, and Justice to fruition, although we cannot question that Wholeness, Oneness, and Justice are our legacy.

Prayer:
Holy Spirit, truth divine,
 Dawn upon this soul of mine;
 Word of God and inward light
 Wake my spirit, clear my sight. 

Holy Spirit, love divine,
 Glow within this heart of mine;
 Kindle every high desire;
 Perish self in Thy pure fire. 

Holy Spirit, power divine
 Fill and nerve this will of mine;
 Grant that I may strongly live,
 Bravely bear, and nobly strive. 

Holy Spirit, peace divine,
 Still this restless heart of mine;
 Speak to calm this tossing sea,
 Stayed in Thy tranquility.* Amen.

*Words by Samuel Longfellow

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.

Who are You?

Who am IAdvent
December 14, 2014

Scripture Reading: John 1:6-8, 19-28 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord” ’, as the prophet Isaiah said. — John 1:19-23

A strange new preacher had moved to town and was attracting a lot of attention. He was even baptizing. The religious leaders of the community being concerned, went to check his credentials and he quoted their own scripture, Isaiah 40:3, to them.

 

While in graduate school learning the ropes of being a social worker, I had the privilege to do one of my field placements in the office of a woman who was pretty remarkable. She was quiet and unassuming but she had a power that was not readily turned back. She headed an office that was assigned to develop services for the aging under the Older Americans Act. It required input from the community to formulate plans for the use of the funding and she took that requirement very literally. An Aging Council made up of local people who were senior citizens was created and trained in the work that was to be done. They took their jobs very seriously and developed a plan that they felt would best meet the needs of their population while using the available funding wisely. Local politicians had other ideas about how the money was to be spent. They had been caught off guard and had not been contacted to fill the Aging Council with their selected representatives. The Aging Council did include some very powerful people though whose main concern was the senior citizens. The plan they developed was implemented. It angered the politicians, but that is another story. She had followed not only the letter of the law but the spirit of the law also.

 

John, the Baptist, had drawn the assignment to make straight the way for the coming of the Messiah. His whole life was totally focused on that tasks. He was preaching to the choir as they say, but he was telling the old, old story in ways that had been lost on some of the leaders of the temple. They asked him, who are you? Probably more of a challenge with a bit of a tone that suggested he did not have the authority to be speaking for God.

 

As church leaders and members, I think that is a question we might want to ask ourselves. Are we focused on what God is calling us to do? Are any of us or all of us not called to cry out against the wilderness of a society lost in greed, injustice, racism, domestic violence, human trafficking and terrorism? Are any of us focused on introducing people lost in these gaps to the one who has come to save us and to show us a better way?  Who am I; what am I called to do? Who are we; what are we called to do together? We are no less than the Body of Christ in the world today. We need to work toward oneness among ourselves that will lead to justice for all.

 

Prayer: Lord the world needs many voices crying together countering the ways of greed and hate. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, For the facing of this hour*. Amen.

*From the hymn, God of Grace and God of Glory by Harry E. Fosdick. 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.

What Has the Lord Called you to Do?

TalentsAdvent
December 8, 2014

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
   because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
   to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
   and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
  and the day of vengeance of our God;
   to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
   to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
   the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.— 61:1-3a

Could you make a list like this one? If you have accepted the spirit of God upon you, what have you been anointed to do? It might be a good experience to really stop for a time and think about that. I think God who created each of us instilled in us certain talents. When we are most at home in using those talents, we most likely are in sync with what God has called us to do. The challenge is to recognize our talents, to hone them by study and good use, and to apply them when appropriate.  All of these tasks are easier to say than to do.

I have noticed in my many years of working as a part of various churches, or any organization for that matter, there are people doing things because the things need to be done and nobody else will do them. The problem with that is the person is most liked working in an area where they have limited skills while not doing the things at which they excel. The whole body of Christ suffers when all its members are not working at their full potential.

This week take a few minutes and write your Isaiah 61. The Lord has sent me to . . . .
You might be surprise what your list includes. What are the things that bring you joy even if they are hard to do and may be frustrating? When while you are working do you feel closest to God?

Of course, we all have to do some things that are not our cup of tea but knowing where you are gifted is a good start toward fulfilling your calling.

Prayer: Lord, speak to me. Help me see my passions for service, my skills to address them, and what I need to do to improve 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Helpless

Fruits of the SpiritAdvent
November 27, 2014

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. — 1 Corinthians 1:3-7

It is appropriate that on this Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America the lectionary provides us with Paul’s oft used salutation, I give thanks to my God always for you…so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. As I write this, yesterday Ferguson, Missouri was rent asunder in anger and frustration following a Missouri Grand Jury decision that there was no probable cause to indict the policeman who killed a young black man accused of stealing a handful of cigars. Today, I do not feel anyone should be thankful for me as I feel so terribly helpless to respond.

While, I am sure, there will never be consensus on what actually happened in Ferguson a couple of months ago, I am sure that an indictment was issued by God yesterday in Ferguson against this entire great nation and all our people. This indictment found more than probable cause to show that we are a broken nation torn apart by hunger for power and greed fueled by fear. We have lost sight of the fact that our most valuable resource is our wonderfully diverse people all blessed by our creator with gifts of which all are necessary for our country to thrive. It is our job as citizens to remove any barriers to the fruition of each of those gifts being fully realized.

It is our job as Christians to follow the example of Jesus Christ in living our love of God fully among all peoples, welcoming all people as our neighbors, and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. And whether we feel like it today or not, God has already equipped us to do that very job through the gifts of the Spirit in each of our lives and in our combined lives as the Body of Christ in the world today and for that let us all be thankful and let it be so.

Prayer: Lord forgive us for feeling so inadequate to respond in such a time as this. Please turn our inadequacies into inspiration for finding your way, your truth, and your life in each step we take over the coming months toward wholeness, oneness, and justice. Amen.

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

The Mystical Body of Christ

Golden retrieverLiving in the Spirit
November 21, 2014

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23

 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. — Ephesians 1:20-23

What is this thing we call church anyway? I’ll bet if you polled the general public in the USA most would respond that the church was a type of building. They might add that it is used for religious purposes like temples and mosques. Others might say an organization, a group of people with a common cause. The word translated “church” in our scripture today comes from the Greek ekklesia that literally means to call out from or to. It is properly, people called out from the world and to God, the outcome being the Church (the mystical body of Christ) * Thus, church actually has nothing to do with a particular building, although it is helpful to have a place to meet. Even though great effort has been made to bring those called out to serve God together, I do not in any sense of the word think anyone would describe it as organized.

An endangered African Wild Dog at the Oklahoma City Zoo recently gave birth to a litter of three pups that she promptly rejected. The zoo sent out a call for a surrogate mother. A family with a nursing golden retriever came to the rescue. What a wonderful example of the interdependence of all God’s creatures on the earth. The church is that golden retriever called to nourish the world with God’s love.

Why do you suppose God created such a diverse assortment of beings to populate the earth and then God expects us to live in harmony and peace even in the midst of our differences? I think the only way it will work is, if God’s way of being, loving God and loving our neighbors for example, are followed. And it will never work until God’s way of being is the way we live throughout the earth.

Prayer: God of all Creatures, bless us with your nourishment so that we may become nourishing too. Amen.

* http://biblehub.com/greek/1577.htm

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

People are People

SheepLiving in the Spirit
November 18, 2014

Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.

 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken. — Ezekiel 34: 20-24

One of the hardest lessons we learn in life, if we ever learn it, is that we are all just people, one like the other. All are created in the image of God, none more, none less. Ezekiel likens us to sheep. Some are fat some are thin. Some are bullies some are bullied. And ultimately we will all be judged by God, not by how we compare with others, but how we have grown into that image of God, or not.

The prophets of old foretold the coming of one like David, a great leader, yet a servant of God. One who cared about his people and fulfilled the kingly role of assuring the needs of his people like a shepherd caring for his or her flock. The prophets were speaking out of the oppression of the failure of Israel and Judah including exile. We, Christians, in hindsight see Jesus written all through these great writings. Both perspectives bring hope to weary people who long for a Savior.

In a week or so we will once again begin the journey of Advent. A time of waiting for such a Savior. I like Advent, we need to be reminded again and again that our Savior has come and with him came a new day. A day when we are called to live into our being children of God and becoming a vital and living expression of the gift of that Savior to the whole world.

In Jesus’ darkest hours, the time preceding his crucifixion, he ended words of consolation given to his disciples with these words, I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’ (John 16:33) I take great heart in these words. I encourage all to own this statement and in every way possible to live into expressing that reality in our world today.

Prayer: O God, enable me to see Your image in each and all people with whom I have contact. Free me from any need to judge another and help me be a conduit of your love in fulfilling my call to be a part of 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

 

Give Me Oil in My Lamp

Oil in my lampLiving in the Spirit
November 8, 2014

Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:1-13

‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.”— Matthew 25:1-9

The weather forecast today said the first cold spell of the season was coming next week. We might even get some winter precipitation. I made a mental note to go to the grocery store this week and stock up. Back in the 1980’s, I failed to respond to the warning of an impending blizzard and got iced in for four days. Now I was far from starving, but I was also very hungry for fresh fruit and vegetables by the time I was able to shop. The recent Ebola scare has resulted in hospitals beefing up their contagion precautions and it seems we now must be alert to terrorist attacks as a normal part of our everyday life.

In such an atmosphere of fear and self-preservation is it any wonder that we do not invest a lot of time and energy in awaiting the coming of Christ much less making preparations for it? The irony of this reality is that if we invested our time and energy in doing our part to be the Body of Christ in the world today our concerns about self-preservation would dissipate.

There is a ninety year old man in Florida who is actively engaged in waiting for Christ. He has recently been ticketed for feeding the homeless in places in the city that make the presence of the homeless inconvenient for the tourist industry. The man has pledged to continue feeding the homeless wherever they need to be feed so he may go to jail for his actions. He has been doing this for 20 years. Isn’t it sad that after twenty years the community has not seen the needs of the homeless until they interfered with the tourist industry? This man has the extra oil he needs to wait however long it takes for Christ to come. Do the rest of us?

Prayer: Lord, help me to understand what it means to be actively engaged in waiting for your future. Make your future mine and help me live the future that is yours today.
Give me oil for my lamp, keep it burning
Give me oil for my lamp I pray*, Amen.

*http://www.hymnlyrics.org/hymns_camp/give_me_oil_for_my_lamp.php

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.

 

 

Called

Wade in the waterLiving in the Spirit
November 4, 2014

Scripture Reading: Joshua 3:7-17

When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing towards the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan. — Joshua 3:14-17

What constitutes a “church”? I had the opportunity recently to participate in a short discussion of this question at a meeting of one of the organizational bodies of the faith group with which I am a member. We were discussing that our by-laws use the word “church” to describe certain rights and privileges. When we apply a conventional definition of the word “church” we most often think of a congregation with a building, by-laws, officers, and staff. We have ministries that might benefit from these same rights and privileges, but do not necessarily have a building or by-laws or officers or a staff. We decided that at a future date we needed to delve further into what is a “church” and perhaps reconstitute our by-laws to match what we find.

The English word “church” comes from the Greek word kyriakos, “belonging to the Lord” (kyrios)*. The Greek word ekklésia is translated 114 times in the New Testament as “church”. It means an assembly, congregation, church; the Church, the whole body of Christian believers*.  These definitions are certainly broader than the conventional perception of the definition of the word “church”.

What does all this have to do with the Israelites crossing the Jordan? Religious leaders must not be afraid to step into deep water to fulfill the call of Christ to be the Body of Christ in our world today and that may mean changing our constitutions and by-laws to keep up with the Joshua’s of the world. Such change will require much discernment and a whole lot of covenantal conversations that entail at least as much listening and prayer among all participants as they do talking.

Prayer: Holy One, grant us the courage to step out in faith and wade in the water of your callings. Amen

*http://biblehub.com/greek/1577.htm

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

 

Met Where I Was

Body of ChristLiving in the Spirit
October 26, 2014

Scripture Reading: Matthew 22:34-46

  Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’ ”? If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?’ No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
— Matthew 22:41-46

As Matthew reported this discourse, Jesus and the Pharisees had discussed four issues raised by the Pharisees testing Jesus on scripture and religion. The debate draws to a close when Jesus asked the Pharisees a question to which they had no answer. I rather think Jesus enjoyed sparring with the religious leaders of the day. He was as capable of getting into his head as he was his heart. He also knew his Hebrew scripture. He loved all kinds of people and met them where they were on their journey of life. This One who was destined to ultimately be the judge of all peoples seemed to encounter people from the viewpoint of a blank slate. To some he simply said, “Follow me.” To others he said, “Go and sin no more.” To these Pharisees, he said, “Here let me give you something for you to wrap your head around.”

I saw the small gym as I entered the restaurant next door, noted the name, and checked it out on the Internet when I got home. I was morbidly obese, grossly out of shape, and recovering from knee replacement surgery. I had had the normal physical therapy following surgery, but just could not make any headway on rectifying my state of health so I called the gym and went for an initial evaluation where Don Oliver, a trainer, met me exactly where I was. He put me on an eating and exercise plan saying if you do these things you will lose the weight and get into shape, and by golly it worked. I still follow the eating and exercise plan, have learned to love even more than I did fresh vegetables and low glycemic fruit, and just hiked the wonderful archeological ruins of Turkey with no ill effects.

Like my trainer showed me the way to better health, Jesus by his example and his teaching was showing us how to be the Body of Christ in the world today. It starts with loving everyone who crosses our path just as they are, and never stops until the people we meet and we all attain perfection. We are not any of us there yet but by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit we will be (2 Corinthians 13:14a).

Prayer: Grant us your grace O Lord, and mold us together into the one Body of Christ doing your work throughout the 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Why do We Work?

Cappadocia wall paintingLiving in the Spirit
Light a Candle for Children
September 20, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Matthew 20:1-16

Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?” — Matthew 20:10-13 

Why do we work? Most of us would probably answer that we “work” to provide the necessities of life for ourselves and our families. Paul did this as he continued his trade of making tents while he spread the good news of Jesus Christ. For those of us who have chosen to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have added a new dimension to our world of work. Our work has now become a vocation, a summons from God to undertake the obligations and perform the duties of some particular task or tasks as a member of the Body of Christ functioning in our world today. Our first and foremost task as members of the Body of Christ is to help others becomes Christ’s disciples also. Are not the new laborers described in our scripture today our usual “daily wage” in the vocation to which we have been called? Growing the Body of Christ is in and of itself reward for our efforts.

Growing the body of Christ does not merely entail increasing the number of people who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It also means pursuing our own development and maturation as Christ’s followers and contributing to the maturation of all other believers. I had the opportunity to tour Turkey this summer and visit the cities, most now ruins, of the beginning steps of our faith. The vast majority of the population at that time were illiterate. Books had not even been invented. Our forbearers in the faith drew pictures on the walls of caves and later structures to teach the stories of Jesus to a population hungry for the “Word”. We, too, are called to be innovative as we strive with our fellow seekers today to become fully actualized citizens of our world. We do have the advantage of books and digital science and all types of visual and audio aides to help us in our quest for learning. In training people to read we not only enable them to grow in faith but also to grow in their ability to provide for the basic needs of themselves and their families.

Oklahoma Fact: in 2013, 7% of teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 are not enrolled in high school and are not high school graduates.*

Prayer: Turn our work into vocation, O Lord, so that we might grow in wisdom and truth as we help others grow in the faith. Amen.

*http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/73-teens-ages-16-to-19-not-in-school-and-not-high-school-graduates?loc=38&loct=2#detailed/2/38/false/868,867,133,38,35/any/380,381
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.