Tag Archives: God’s Light

The Light of God’s Countenance

Living in the Spirit

June 24, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18

Happy are the people who know the festal shout,
   who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance;
they exult in your name all day long,
   and extol your righteousness.
For you are the glory of their strength;
   by your favor our horn is exalted.
For our shield belongs to the Lord,
   our king to the Holy One of Israel. –Psalm 89:15-18

I miss singing in the congregation. I do sing while watching our live stream service, but it is not the same. If all the viewers are singing, the Lord surely hears us as God’s people lifting our voices together. That must be music to God’s ears.

I fear God more often hears a cacophony of noise expressing rage and pain and anger being sounded from around the world during these trying times. I listened to the mother of Bubba Wallace, the racecar driver who found a noose in his garage recently. She indicated she spoke words of comfort and support to him after he called her to alert her to what had happened. She then went to take a shower and screamed and screamed her frustration and concern. I hear the police union leaders’ frustration at being accused of overprotecting “bad” cops and thus causing the problem the stems from racism. While society seems unwilling to address the systemic racism that makes mistreatment of people of color acceptable. Health care professionals are begging people to wear masks and physical distance to reduce the spread of COVID 19. Others say, “No one can tell us what to do,” even when our actions are killing our neighbors.

The time has come to listen to one another with the intent of understanding the other’s positions. To respond in the language of love, as we search together for common ground for the Common Good. If we seek the Spirit’s guidance, God will shine the Lord’s light on our countenances, and we will discover God has innately endowed us with the ability to do justice and live in righteousness if we make it our choice.

Prayer: Lord of Love and Mercy, hear our rage and pain and anger and channel its energy into solutions that are just and righteous. 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.

Let There Be Light

Lent

March 28, 2020

Scripture Reading:
John 11:1-45

Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it, he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let us go to Judea again.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.’ –John 11:1-9

As I read in the above scripture that Jesus chose to walk into danger by choice to fulfill his mission, I thought of all the health care workers and emergency respondents who are doing exactly that—walking into danger by choice right now. A friend has a son who is a nurse and who is apparently on call with FEMA to serve in disasters. He was sent to Puerto Rico shortly after that disaster happened; he now is in New York City dealing with the covid 19 pandemic.

I like the idea of working in the light of day so that we do not stumble. That speaks to me of prevention and protective measures and the oneness that must be present for any pandemic to be swept away.  The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is to make my bed. Sometime in late February or early March, I am not sure when, there was enough light streaming through my bedroom windows so that it was not necessary for me to turn on the light electricity provides. By habit I am an early riser. I found it a bit disconcerting the first morning of Daylight Savings Time that I had to turn on the light. Just a couple of weeks later the daylight was streaming again.

We do God’s work in our world in both times of light and darkness. During times of great joy and great fear God’s light persists. In this time of bleak darkness, we need to depend on that light to shine on our path and show us the way to be God’s people within his light of love.

Prayer: Open our hearts and minds to let your light shine through us during bad times as well as 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.

Listening for God

Hearing GodEpiphany
Celebration of God
Manifested in the World
January 12, 2015

 Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (11-20)

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.

 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ and he said, ‘Here I am!’ and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. — 1 Samuel 3:1-5

Whether we read this scripture literally or metaphorically, it is ominous in nature. In the second chapter of 1 Samuel we read of an oracle confronting Eli about his work and more particularly the lack of commitment of his sons. God was going to pass the torch to someone else who would be God’s prophet for the people that someone was Samuel. The first verse begs the question: was the word of the Lord rare or were people not listening for it? Apparently the priestly functions were continuing as hollow acts of habit. Samuel, no doubt by Eli’s instruction, was tending the lamp of God even before he knew who God was. The lamp was to remain lit until the sun rose. On this morning a new and different dawn was coming. God will not let God’s people go without God’s light.

The birth and dedication of Samuel to God is mirrored in the birth of Jesus, another chosen one conceived to spread even a greater light into the darkness that was overcoming the world. Similar challenges faced Samuel and then Jesus and they still face us today. We humans, children of God though we are, do not handle prosperity well. We have a long, long history of begging for God in the bad times and not being aware of God in what we consider to be the good times.

The abundant life that Jesus described most likely included all having enough to eat and other basic needs met not more than enough. God’s abundance is having more than enough love for God and each other.

Prayer: Lord help us to carefully consider what is enough, and let us work toward assuring that the basic needs of all are being met. More importantly, open our ears and our eyes to hear your word and see your visions as we work to make them real in our world today experienced in the depth of your love. Amen.

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