Tag Archives: Building the Beloved Community

Providing for the Common Good

Ordinary Time

February 13, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Exodus 24:12-18
The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.’ So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. To the elders he had said, ‘Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them.’

Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.

Tracking bills in the state legislature and Congress over the years has become my advocation. It was part of my job when I worked, but now it is part of my advocacy work. God created the world out of chaos. We, the people, are challenged to follow God’s example by establishing laws and rules to maintain a peaceful and just world. Many of our laws are based on those ancient laws, from though shalt not kill to ensuring our food is safe to eat. Some of the Commandments involve our relationship with God. Others spell out issues of providing for the Common Good for everyone. Some are broad in nature, others very specific, and all are open to our interpretation.

Governments are created to provide for the Common Good. King David, as a monarch, was charged with caring for widows and orphans. He also oversaw a powerful army. Americans, through their constitution, established a representative democracy where the people are ultimately responsible for finding common ground for the Common Good.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in our discernment of what the Common Good is and help us hold our representatives accountable for providing the Common Good. 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 Serve

Ordinary Time

February 10, 2023

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building. –1 Corinthians 3:5-9

We are God’s servants. I have always loved the song He Lives! I serve a risen Savior; He’s in the world today. It simply states our purpose as Christ-followers, to serve the Lord in completing His mission of building the Beloved Community.  We grow in trust and faith as we learn from the work of our ancestors and plan for a better world for our children. Paul tells us in the above scripture that works best when we work together. I am active in the Oklahoma Poor People’s Campaign. Facing the challenges in our society in such a time as this is overwhelming. We do our best work when we do the part we are good at and work closely in supporting those with the knowledge and skills to bring about change in other areas.

Paul stands with us in being a servant, but he directs us specifically to be God’s field and God’s building*. Paul was a traveling minister, a planter of seeds; we are the field that must make the teachings he shared with us come to fruition throughout the whole world. We are the ones called to be the church**, not necessarily a building made of brick and mortar, but a community of faith that can meet together and support each other in using our diverse skills and talents to foster God’s commandment to develop a world ruled by love.

Prayer: Lord, help us each to perfect our skills and talents to serve you better, and teach us to work together so that your synergy expands all that we attempt to do. Amen.

*oikodomḗ – properly, a building (edifice) serving as a home; (figuratively) constructive criticism and instruction that builds a person up to be the suitable dwelling place of God, i.e. where the Lord is “at home.” (https://biblehub.com/greek/3619.htm)

Ekklēsía (from 1537 /ek, “out from and to” and 2564 /kaléō, “to call”) – properly, people called out from the world and to God, the outcome being the Church (the mystical body of Christ) – i.e. the universal (total) body of believers whom God calls out from the world and into His eternal kingdom. (https://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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Higher Ground

Ordinary Time

February 9, 2023

Scripture Reading:

1 Corinthians 3:1-9

And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul’, and another, ‘I belong to Apollos’, are you not merely human? –1 Corinthians 3:1-4

The word flesh, as used here, simply describes being human, which is neither good nor bad, and can be either depending on the circumstances. I met a new great grand niece at my sister’s house at Thanksgiving and watched as the baby was unsure what to do with a few mashed potatoes her mother fed her. I guess she found it OK as she swallowed it but did not seem to want more. Paul is using the metaphor of feeding the body to describe the need to feed the soul.

We live in a very divided culture right now. I watched the Presidential State of the Union speech yesterday. We would not be a democracy, a government by the people if we did not have varying opinions of the ways to run our government.  The standard behavior during this speech is that the members of the Supreme Court and our military leaders remain seated without expressing an opinion of what was being put forward. When the opposing party’s stances on issues vary from what is being presented, they remain seated and do not clap their hands, remain seated and clap their hands, or when common ground exists, stand and clap. A few hecklers among the legislators last night felt it necessary to call out derogatory responses. Paul was dealing with reports of similar behavior among the Christians in Corinth. Our government exists to find common ground for the Common Good, which is true when bringing together the Body of Christ to answer Christ’s call to build the Beloved Community. I think the song Higher Ground addresses this issue well.

I’m pressing on the upward way,
New heights I’m gaining ev’ry day;
Still praying as I’m onward bound,
“Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Refrain:
Lord, lift me up, and let me stand
By faith, on heaven’s tableland;
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay;
Though some may dwell where these abound,
My prayer, my aim, is higher ground*

Prayer: Lord, lift me up, and let me stand By faith, on heaven’s tableland; A higher plane than I have found, Lord, plant my feet on higher ground. Amen.

*First and second verses with the refrain of the hymn Higher Ground by Johnson Oatman, Jr.  See at https://hymnary.org/text/im_pressing_on_the_upward_way

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.

The Times They are a Changin’*

Ordinary Time

January 29, 2023

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Our world is entering a new worldview similar to the Renaissance or the Industrial Revolution, causing us to struggle with what was and deal with what is as we prepare for the future. The result is people trying to find stability in an unstable environment as our worldview is changing rapidly. Thus we are experiencing a steady stream of grasping for anything that can make us feel grounded.

Homeostasis is a word that describes a tendency toward maintenance of relatively stable social conditions among groups with respect to various factors and to competing tendencies and powers within the body politic, to society, or to culture among [people]**.

Years ago, my roommate and I invited two guys over to play cards at our apartment. The day before, our dishwasher stopped working, and the apartment manager had not yet sent anyone to fix it. Our dirty dishes were stacked all over the counter. When our friends arrived and saw the mess and heard our plight, one of them walked over to the sink, put his hands on each side of it, looked at us, and said, “In ancient days, people washed dishes in this appliance using their hands, dish soap, washcloths, and towels.” Neither my roommate nor I had even considered doing such a thing. We were caught in homeostasis. We were programmed to do dishes the way we had always done them. Of course, our always was a short time earlier because we were raised in homes without dishwashers.

We live in a time when we no longer have a relatively stable social condition. The world is changing around us, and we have lost our grip on stability. In the first century, one of those changes that literally impacted the whole world was the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the movement that was formed to spread its worth throughout the world. The Sermon on the Mount prepared the members of that movement to deal with the impact of such change. Two thousand years later, we must recall this advice as we strive to build Christ’s beloved community in a world in the chaos of change.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the wisdom of the Sermon on the Mount describing how to spread your love in the changing worldview in which we live.  Amen.

*Title of a song by Bob Dylan

**https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/homeostasis

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.

Sharing Love

Ordinary Time

January 24, 2023

Scripture Reading: Micah 6:1-8

‘With what shall I come before the Lord,
   and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
   with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
   with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
   the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God? –Micah 6:6-8

Do we really understand that God calls us to a partnership with God and with one another to spread God’s love to all? Making a burnt offering, even using one of the finest sheep or bull, and then walking back into the culture of the world around us does not mean we have excepted the responsibility to fulfill our relationship with God. We are not called to bribe our way into God’s good graces. We are called to accept God’s gift of grace that enables us to be a conduit of God’s love creating the Beloved Community where each and all are persons of worth. Worship rituals can be very meaningful to our growth in faith, but such activities are never the final goal. The final goal is building that Beloved Community that includes all of God’s creation, and God tells us how to do that through the voice of the prophet Micah,

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for sending us prophets to share the great challenge but the simplicity of loving like 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.

Building the Future

Advent

December 22, 2022

Scripture: Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12)

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. –Hebrews 1:1-4

I heard yesterday on the news that the Taliban had reinstated the rule that Afghan women could no longer attend university.  The move was expected. As I read the scripture above that thought crossed my mind because scholars have no idea who wrote the book of Hebrews. One speculation is that it might have been a woman because of their standing in that culture in the first century, women were not normally accredited with such work. Priscilla and Mary Magdalene have been named as possible authors. The King James Version of the Bible identifies Paul as the author, but the written form of Hebrews is very different from Paul’s writing.

Regardless of the author, the document seems to have been targeted at churches needing to examine their vision and purpose, perhaps as they shift from awaiting and imminent return of Christ toward making ready the Kingdom of God for Christ’s return. That idea plays out well in the scripture quoted above.  The scripture reminds us that prophets had predicted Christ’s coming many years ago and in these last days Christ, God with us, came to dwell among us, made purification of our sins, and returned to his work at the right hand of God. In so doing, he instructed us to continue his work here on earth. We might liken our call to work on building the Kingdom of God to Jesus’s instructions to the disciples in Luke 22:8: So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.’

Prayer: Lord, guide us by your Spirit through your work to do our work to actualize the Kingdom of God here, now, and for the future. 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.

Prepare the Way for the Lord

Advent

December 22, 2022

Scripture: Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12)

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. –Hebrews 1:1-4

I heard yesterday on the news that the Taliban had reinstated the rule that Afghan women could no longer attend university.  The move was expected. As I read the scripture above that thought crossed my mind because scholars have no idea who wrote the book of Hebrews. One speculation is that it might have been a woman because of their standing in that culture in the first century, women were not normally accredited with such work. Priscilla and Mary Magdalene have been named as possible authors. The King James Version of the Bible identifies Paul as the author, but the written form of Hebrews is very different from Paul’s writing.

Regardless of the author, the document seems to have been targeted at churches needing to examine their vision and purpose, perhaps as they shift from awaiting an imminent return of Christ toward making ready the Kingdom of God for Christ’s return. That idea plays out well in the scripture quoted above.  The scripture reminds us that prophets had predicted Christ’s coming many years ago and in these last days Christ, God with us, came to dwell among us, and made purification of our sins, and returned to his work at the right hand of God. In so doing, he instructed us to continue his work here on earth. We might liken our call to work on building the Kingdom of God to Jesus’s instructions to the disciples in Luke 22:8: So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.’

Prayer: Lord, guide us through your work in the Spirit to do our work to actualize the Kingdom of God here, now, and for the future. 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.

Doers of the Word

Advent

December 20, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10
How beautiful upon the mountains
   are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
   who announces salvation,
   who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
   together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
   the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
   you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
   he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
   before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
   the salvation of our God.

We believe in a God who is always with us. We believe that God was manifested to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Yet just as our ancient ancestors in faith, we continue to long for a Savior. In the scripture above Isaiah describes in the present tense God who is here, available to us now, if we would only seek the Holy One. The Lord has already provided us with the work we must do to address those realities in our world from which we need to be saved. We, however, are like the rich young ruler who followed all the rules but wanted to know if that was enough for him to gain eternal life. Jesus’s response in Mark 10:21-22: Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. The young man left grieving, but we are not told what he eventually did.  We are that young man wanting to be saved from troubled waters but not knowing whether we are willing to take the actions that will save us, save our neighbors, our nation, and our world.

As we move closer and closer once again to being astounded by the grace of God that can to us as a tiny baby, open our hearts and our minds to accepting God’s call to re-form the world in accordance with his great vision of love.

Prayer: Lord, makes us doers of the word not hearers only, (James 1:22) 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.

Grace and Peace

Advent

December 16, 2022

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:1-7

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

My mother would have described my activities over the past few weeks as being like a chicken with its head cut off. Quiet a grizzly sight I can assure you but true. When a chicken, or turkey for that matter, is beheaded, the body runs in circles until it collapses. This is one of those bits of information that you probably did not want to know and is generally only learned by those of us who have had some relationship with a farm.

I seem to be caught in the framework of taking one step forward and two backward in various aspects of my life. These good and important activities must be coordinated among people with varying understandings of the situations being addressed trying to discern the best way to a successful conclusion. Studying the Myers-Briggs personality types was very helpful to me in trying to communicate well with people who did not perceive the world in the same way that I did.  The same is true of the VAK learning mode which divides people into three categories of learners: Visual learners – who absorb information by sight, Auditory learners – who absorb information by sound, and Kinesthetic learners – who absorb information by moving. I am very auditory and thus do not think to use pictures to illustrate something I am sharing. A handout or picture might be worth a thousand words I might say to get a point across.

I now have time to take a bit of an extended Sabbath. Paul’s statement at the close of the above scriptures was a wonderful opening to my rest and recuperation. I do not identify as a saint, but I feel set apart as one trying to serve God as were most of the people with whom I have been dealing. Thus, I appreciate all the grace and peace God can provide for me and all of God’s other saints trying to work together to implement God’s vision for all people.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the diversity of your saints who strive to serve you more nearly. 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.

Intentionality

Advent

December 13, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Isaiah 7:10-16
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

Immanuel knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good and modeled it for his followers. Jesus walked the talk; he never met a stranger. My dad was like that; this introvert must work at it. I think he was very intentional in everything he did, as much as his stories seem to portray him as being very spontaneous. His interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well is a good example of that, but so was his chasing the money changers out of the temple. Was that because he was always on message fulfilling his purpose in the short time he had on earth? Are all our actions targeted at fulfilling Christ’s vision for all God’s children?

 A time of waiting, Advent is a time of waiting and a great time to reinforce our dedication to answering the call to serve God in all aspects of our lives. We must stop at times and explore what we are doing to further the development of the Beloved Community. Even taking the time for self-care gives us the energy to continue our work.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the intentionality we need to serve you by habit. 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.