Tag Archives: Following Jesus’ Example

Poverty

Advent

December 20, 2020

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

We have in this scripture an interesting juxtaposition. One woman who bore the shame of being unable to conceive throughout the fertile time of her life suddenly becomes pregnant, and a young woman, unmarried, becomes pregnant too soon. Although she was engaged to the future groom, he knew the baby was not his. These women were caught in the sting of their culture’s norms.

Much of my work as a social worker dealt with helping people overcome the culture we live in. It is a two-part challenge, first, advocating for a person to be accepted for their talents and abilities. And second, helping individuals not internalize and become the cultural stereotypes that have been projected on them for most of their lives.  I do not know how many grade-school age girls I observed who made straight A’s in school suddenly start falling behind after reaching puberty and eventually having a baby out of wedlock when they are 14 or 15 years old. They have been acculturated to believe that their worth is tied to being subservient to a male. The church must take a lot of responsibility for that not only being passed through the church but into the larger culture.

Our first priority in life is serving God. Second in importance, if we choose to be parents is to be the best we can be. There are no more important roles in life than being parents, both fathers and mothers, at the right time and under appropriate circumstances. The African proverb: It takes a village to raise a child is also right. We all are called to nurture and encourage children, assure that they have adequate food, clothing, and shelter; quality health care; and education. Approximately 40 percent of our population does not have access to basic needs. That is missing the mark. Our society accepts this vicious cycle of poverty. Most of these people work but do not earn enough to provide for their families.

Jesus had to deal with this same problem. He taught us to feed the hungry, care for the sick.  He did not lead us to reinforce stereotypical behavior. We take for granted being served by a waitress who is being paid in Oklahoma $2.13 per hour with the expectation that the remaining salary is made up through tips to achieve the minimum wage at $7.25.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for burying our heads in the sand to the way we are allowing our neighbors to live in poverty.  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.

Changing the Way We Have Always Done It

Living in the Spirit

August 16, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Matthew 15:21-28

Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.’ But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, ‘Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.’ He answered, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ But she came and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, help me.’ He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ She said, ‘Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.’ Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly.

I am so glad this story made it into the book of Matthew. Jesus is many things to many people, but one of his primary roles is being a model for how we can live our faith. Jesus is quoted as saying, ‘I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ I hear that as saying your problem is not my problem or you are asking for something that is not in my job description. Of scriptures in the gospels that attest to the fact that Jesus was fully human, this is one of the best. How many times do we think or say that is not my job?

The Canaanite women did not let Jesus get away with his dodge. He realized his error and healed her daughter.

We all carry with us the way we have always done lots of things. Among them are attitudes and behaviors that now bring the descriptors of racists, misogynistic, white privilege, which unnerve us. We think they have nothing to do with us, but they do.

I know two people who came to the USA who shared the same experience with me. One came many years ago from Germany following World War II. The other was here from China working on a graduate degree. They both told me that for the longest time, they had to think about what they were going to say in their native language and then translate it in their heads into English before speaking. By the time I knew them, they both seemed comfortable with English, but it was a challenge to get to that point.  I think that process is what many of us must practice as we discern patterns of our behavior or speech that contribute to a lack of understanding among the diverse peoples of our world. It is awkward at first, but if we invest in recognizing those things we have always done but now know are not appropriate, we can review them in our heads and control acting inappropriately. Some day it will seem like we have always done it that way.

Prayer: Lord, help us to model Jesus in recognizing that all God’s children need our love and compassion. 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.

Jesus Love Me but do I know it?

Eastertide

May 16, 2020

Scripture Reading:
John 14:15-21

‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. John 14:15-17

I do not think I had ever noticed in the scripture above that the gift of the other Advocate through Jesus Christ is based on our loving Jesus and keeping his commandments. It bears a striking resemblance to one of what we now call the Ten Commandments, which goes even further, stating that our diligence in following God’s commandments impacts our descendants for better or for worse. And once again, those pesky idols are weaving their way between God and us.

You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. –Exodus 20:5-6

So much of what I see going wrong with the world is our projecting our desires onto gods we create and then worship that separate us from the God who created us. I wonder if that is what Walter Brueggeman is describing as he discusses the monologic God. Brueggeman says in The Gospel of Hope:

We, in our society and in our churches, are sore tempted to monologue. Such a temptation imagines absolute certainty an sovereignty, and uncritically imagines that any of us can speak with the voice and authority of the monologic God. Such certitude is an act of idolatry.

The dialogic God, Brueggeman discusses possibly is what the prophet Amos describes when he talks about building our lives according to God’s plumb line*. God created us and set forth guidelines to help us live in wholeness. The decision to do so is ours.

Jesus commands are summarized in loving God and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. Following those commandments requires us to hold our way of being up to that standard. I think there is a two-fold assessment needed. We must consider whether how we treat another is the way we would want to be treated in similar circumstances. We also must struggle with the question do we love ourselves as the children of the God who created us. I fear much of the divisiveness in our world today, including violence, bigotry, and greed is the result of our questioning or not accepting that we are worthy of God’s love ourselves.

Prayer: Lord, be present with us as we struggle to recognize that your love for us is real and eternal freeing us to love our neighbors without question. Amen.

*See Amos 7:7-15

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 Like Jesus

god is loveLent
March 3, 2016

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
 –2 Corinthians 5:16-17

How do we regard others? What is that human point of view Paul discusses in our scripture today? I flash back to Samuel’s encounter with the sons of Jesse whom he was considering for anointment as the next king of Israel. The first, the oldest was tall and handsome but was rejected by God for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7b). On it went until Samuel had seen all the sons present when he asked, “Is this all?” They sent for the youngest who was in the field tending the sheep, the least likely certainly from an experience point of view. And that is how David became King.

I was caught up in an uninvited, and frankly unwanted, dialogue recently with a man who was bullying and harassing in his approach to correcting my beliefs about abortion, which I actually never told him or was even given a chance to tell him. I do believe some abortions are medically necessary and I thus support the legal right to choose. I, however, have spent the better part of my adult life doing everything I possibly can to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and births to teens, increase the availability of early and quality medical care for all pregnant women, and assure that the basic needs of all people are met from birth to the grave. I am a strong believer in preventive justice. I know statistically speaking that the incidence of abortion is much less when these three areas are adequately addressed.

The man I judged as a bully was speaking out of his faith. I had great difficulty seeing him from any point of view but my human one. I am pretty sure he was seeing me also through his human point of view and we did not communicate. Jesus could have talked with him. I need to pay a little more attention to how Jesus was able to meet each person exactly where they were and work to make them whole without losing his wholeness.

Prayer: Lord, help me to see the Christ in everyone I encounter and let your image in me response to each in a manner that enables us both to grow in our ability to love 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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.