Tag Archives: Justice

Peaceful Protest

Living in the Spirit

July 1, 2021

Scripture Reading:
2 Corinthians 12:2-10

I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows— was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

We live in a crazy world. I do not know how many people were arrested on January 6, 2021, when the nation’s capital was breached with windows and furniture broken and congress members hustle out to safety. Five deaths are attributed to that event. An estimated $1.5 million in damage was done. Five hundred people had since been arrested. The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. The actions on January 6 clearly did not meet the test of peaceably to assemble.

Recently, Reverend Doctor William Barber Jr. and other participants from the Poor Peoples Campaign, including Reverend Jesse Jackson, led a group of people to Washington DC from West Virginia and Kentucky to meet with their senators, Joe Manchin and Mitch McConnell, at their offices. The group was turned away, and neither man was willing to meet with their constituents. Part of the group then went and stood in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue to peacefully protest the issues they wanted to discuss. Both men and some others were arrested for, I guess, blocking traffic. Rev. Dr. Barber suffers from Ankylosing Spondylitis, and Jesse Jackson has Parkinson’s Disease. Neither of these gentle giants would have hurt anyone. Just standing in solidarity for voters’ rights with the people of West Virginia and Kentucky was a painful chore.  

We cannot let the out-of-control actions of an angry mob overtake the fundamental rights of our democracy. People like Paul did not have the protection of our Constitution. He paid a heavy personal price for his work sharing the love of God. We, however, can and must work for righteousness and justice peaceably.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the courage to be conduits of your love through our citizenship. 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.

What Sin?

Living in the Spirit

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June 30, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
   Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my supplications!

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
   Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
   so that you may be revered.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
   more than those who watch for the morning,
   more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord!
   For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
   and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
   from all its iniquities.

Psalm 130 is one all followers of God should memorize and recite daily as we strive to serve the Lord in our world today. We do not always get everything right. Many of us commit sins of omission rather than commission. The story of Jesus saving the woman caught in adultery is an excellent example of that. The religious leaders of the day were ready to stone her for her sin until Jesus instructs that the one without sin throw the first stone*. All her accusers turned and walked away. We do not know the woman’s back story, but we see this in our world today. With poverty rampant, we do not support quality education for all. Oklahoma ranks among the worst ten states for health outcomes, yet it took us eleven years and a vote of the people to approve Medicaid expansion providing health care for adults who previously had none. Enrollment in the program started June 1, 2020, and over 100,000 adults have been authorized.

Turning and walking away when we recognize we are imperfect is not the final answer. The definitive answer is moving into the lives of those who need a helping hand to become fully the persons God created them to be. Here are a few ways to recover from sins of omission:

  • Provide school supplies for a child or tutoring someone,
  • Help someone learn English as a second language to enable them to work,
  • Mentor youth left behind as they transition from the child welfare or juvenile justice system toward being productive adults are ways of recovering from those sins of omission.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts and arms to helping others become whole as our interactions with them make us whole. Amen.

*See John 8:3-11

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.

Learn from Our Mistakes

Living in the Spirit

June 29, 2021

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
   In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles,
   they were stronger than lions.

O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
   who clothed you with crimson, in luxury,
   who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

How the mighty have fallen
   in the midst of the battle!

Jonathan lies slain upon your high places.
   I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
greatly beloved were you to me;
   your love to me was wonderful,
   passing the love of women.

How the mighty have fallen,
   and the weapons of war perished!

The world has had too much death over the past year, and still, more to come. Our enemy is not a mighty military but a tenacious, tiny virus that will not give up easily morphing from one attack scheme to another. Well-trained armies envy such tenacity and cunning. We in the USA are particularly shattered by COVIDs strength unaccustomed to having the highest death rates among the nations from a virus. We have lost our sense of self as a nation if, indeed, countries can have a self.

David watched Saul fail in leadership, sometimes from afar, running from Saul’s anger. I sense that David knew he would outlast Saul. His relationship with Saul was tenuously tied to Saul’s mood and what David could do for Saul. Jonathan, however, was a dear and precious friend of long-standing.  Saul and Jonathan’s deaths marked a new beginning for Israel with the eventual reign of its greatest King, David. He was a mighty warrior, a keen politician, a musician, a writer, and all too human.

Our battle with COVID is not over, but I pray we learn the proper lessons from it. First, we must address our weaknesses and learn from our mistakes. To do that, we must face who we have become as a nation, as a world, and decide how we want to remold ourselves toward doing what is right and just. The last sentence of David’s poem quoted above gives us a good hint of the direction we must take. The weapons of war and the lust for power that engages them do not work.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we depend on the weapons of the world to protect us. Help us follow your model of love and caring for others. Amen.

Reconciliation

Living in the Spirit

June 28, 2021

Scripture Reading:
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.

David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan. (He ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said:
Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places!
   How the mighty have fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,
   proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon;
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
   the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult. –2 Samuel 1:2, 17-20

David was careful to protect Saul and Jonathan. He may have done it because it was the politically right thing to do as he wanted as few enemies among his nation as possible when he assumed the throne.  I think Jonathan was a genuine friend, and his death surely stung.

As an advocate, I regularly wade through politics. Most relationships in life are steeped in a bit of politics. This morning I joined the people of Surfside, Florida, in mourning the lives lost and forever changed by the collapse of their high-rise apartment. The scene was eerily familiar as it looked like the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing. Officials do not know and probably will not know for some time what caused the collapse. The building has been sinking a bit for a while because of the rising water surrounding Miami Beach. That may or may not have had anything to do with the collapse.

Both incidents bring our attention to practicing prevention. A disgruntled white supremacist blew up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The water rising around Miami Beach is the result of climate change. What does it take for us to learn to share our concerns and work together to solve them? What makes us hold so tightly to our understanding of the world that we are unwilling to deal with other viewpoints?

I was struck by David’s final comments above. He did not want the enemy to know they had succeeded in killing Israel’s king and his son. That does not sound like reconciliation with a neighboring nation was going to happen anytime soon. Christ calls us to love all our neighbors and live in a just world. We can only do that through the power of God’s love.

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see ways of reconciliation toward all people. 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, the Healer

Living in the Spirit

June 26, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 5:21-43

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.’ So he went with him.

While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’ But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’ He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat. —Mark 5:21-24, 35-43

Trying to assure affordable, accessible health care for all is a significant part of my life and has been for years. Health care in rural Oklahoma is near crisis. I talked with a friend yesterday trying to help someone find a doctor for the woman’s mother moving to live with her daughter in Oklahoma City. She keeps finding notices that many doctors are not taking new patients. The problem with a profit-based health care system is we can profit ourselves right out of business for those who cannot afford the rising costs. COVID has proven that we all need to support affordable, accessible health care. For one thing, viruses do not differentiate by wealth the people they infect. If all the working-class and middle-class people are forced into poverty because of health care costs, there will be no customers left for the businesses.

The above story illustrates that Jesus reached out and cured people of all walks of life and did not conclude that we cannot save everyone. When I hear of the death of anyone who died from a lack of proper and timely health care because they could not afford it, I wonder if the person who died was one whose gifts would have positively changed the world, and we lost that person before they could reach their potential.

Prayer: Lord, help us to care for the sick following 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.

Finding a Fair Balance

Living in the Spirit

June 25, 2021

Scripture Reading:
2 Corinthians 8:7-15

Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.

 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something— now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written,
‘The one who had much did not have too much,
   and the one who had little did not have too little.’

Jesus did say the poor will always be with us* in a discussion about doing the right things in the right times. What Jesus did not say is true: the rich will always be with us, too. Variances of wealth have always existed. Thus, the terms “poor” and “rich” are relative to place, time, and economy. What we consider poor in the USA is wealth in countries where starvation is rampant. Paul argues that the issue is finding a fair balance between abundance and the needs of others,
As it is written,
‘The one who had much did not have too much,
   and the one who had little did not have too little.’

If this quote sounds familiar, it is from the story of God providing Manna for the Israelites after they fled Egypt. Found in Exodus 16:18 reads:

But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.

I call that everyone having at least enough of the necessities of life. Paul calls it a fair balance. The USA economy is out of balance and even more out of proportion with many parts of the world.  The Poor Peoples Campaign estimates that over 140 million people in the USA live in poverty or just one major setback like a health crisis or job loss from living in poverty**.  Now is the right time to end poverty.  

Prayer: Lord, help us find the right way to find a fair balance of incomes so that everyone can have enough. Amen.

*Mark 14:7
**For more information, see https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/resource/factsheets/

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.

Seeing as Jesus Saw

Living in the Spirit

June 20, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 4:35-41

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he  that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

In grade school, I had to memorize Rudyard Kipling’s poem, If. The first line skittered through my mind as I read the scripture quoted above:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

I no longer can quote the whole poem, but that part stuck with me. Our society has wasted a lot of energy in recent years, losing our heads and blaming the problem identified on someone else, not ourselves. The effort that should be targeted at problem-solving is lost to deadlock. We are stuck in a societal gridlock like a traffic jam that does not move. The Beatles’ Nowhere Man also comes to mind.

He’s a real nowhere man
Sitting in his nowhere land
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody. . .

He’s as blind as he can be
Just sees what he wants to see*

Jesus modeled in his life stepping out of deadlocks, analyzing problems, and addressing them. He called us to continue this work. Jesus never lost his head, nor did he just see what he wanted to see. He did get angry at least once when he drove the money changers out of the temple. That anger was targeted at people who claimed to follow God and reaped profits from their temple work. Greed always seems to be lurking around every corner.

We do not have either the time or energy to get caught in gridlock or losing our heads. We are in the fragile early stages of recovering from a pandemic in our country that is still raging worldwide.  A third of our nation is suffering from severe drought and a depleting water supply. An estimated 1.4 million people in the USA are classified as living in poverty or just one emergency from poverty. Now is the time to seek God’s guidance in responding and investing our time and energy in addressing the challenges we face.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for not seeing what we need to see and not addressing what we need to address. Direct us in loving as you modeled love in the world. Amen.

*See at https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/887/

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.

Biased and Incomplete History

Living in the Spirit

June 9, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
   to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
   and your faithfulness by night,
to the music of the lute and the harp,
   to the melody of the lyre.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
   at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
   and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
   they flourish in the courts of our God.
In old age they still produce fruit;
   they are always green and full of sap,
showing that the Lord is upright;
   he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

I concur with the idea that In old age they still produce fruit. My mother certainly lived this example. I must say I may not always be green and full of sap. But, I hope and pray that I am showing that the Lord is upright. How we live and what we say make a difference. It saddens me that the USA’s percentage identifying as Christian has dropped markedly over the past two decades. I think a significant cause of the decline is we who call ourselves Christian do not live what we preach, and we do not emphasize what Jesus taught.

One of the classes we offered people receiving public assistance years ago included a segment on the fear of change. The teacher encouraged the participants to imagine two paths they could follow. One represents their lives as they are currently living and the other side seems to be a dark, scary, unknown one where one cannot be sure of what will happen. They were asked to consider what was good and not so good about their current life. They were then asked to discern what they would need in that unknown side to reduce the not-so-good. If those things were available on the unknown path, would they choose to take that path?

We stand at that crossroads every day as we practice our faith. I find it interesting how fearful we as a nation are about accepting the fact that our history is not what we were taught. Of what are we afraid? In John 8:31-32, Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ We can never fully grasp the good news of Jesus Christ if we can only view it through the filters of biased or incomplete history.

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage to see ourselves as you see us. Create in us clean hearts and rights spirits. 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.

The Cost of Division

Living in the Spirit

June 5, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 3:20-35

When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’ And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.’ And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. –Mark 3:21-27

The fact that people will believe anything they see or hear with no verification but do not believe what they can see with their eyes is astonishing. There is a pandemic of thinking about what we choose to think and keeping our heads in the sand. We do not deal with the truth. Evil is working extremely hard in our land to divide and conquer us. Jesus’s own family tried to stop him from warning the people of their need to face what is real. I heard a member of Congress saying the crowd on January 6 was no different than regular visitors to the Capitol. I have visited the Capitol several times over many years, mostly seeing well-behaved tour groups and families. Small to large numbers of protestors were sometimes visible but orderly.

There is nothing innately good or bad about politics. It describes a way of interacting and decision-making. Politics is about power and is present in all business and governmental operations. In a democracy, politics require negotiation and compromise. Democracies no longer exist when these skills are dismissed. The issue at stake in the above scripture is not the politics of running a home or a government. Problems arise when the political is infiltrated by evil’s corruption, often based on greed and lust for power. Paul states it well in Ephesians 6:12:

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

God is calling us to turn around and practice God’s mercy and justice. Unfortunately, we will pay heavy consequences if we continue down our current path.

Prayer: God of Justice, forgive us for turning away from you. Cleanse us with your love and place us in your righteous way. 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.

Dealing with Emergence

Living in the Spirit

June 2, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 130
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
   Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my supplications!

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
   Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
   so that you may be revered.


I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
   more than those who watch for the morning,
   more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord!
   For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
   and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
   from all its iniquities.

A morning news show considered whether the period after COVID would be like the time after the Spanish flu, which faded in the early 1920s and led to the roaring 20s and eventually the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Praise, thanksgiving, and celebration are appropriate as the pandemic wanes with prayers that it disappears entirely. We might want to assess the wisdom of the roaring 20s, learn from the good that came from it and avoid the bad.  That is a good lesson for our times. It is a lesson Israel did not recognize. As we read through the history of God’s people, we see a roller coaster ride of high highs accompanied by exile.

The Psalmist invites us to wait on the Lord with hope. What does the Lord desire of us? The measure of our success as the people of God is our ability to love like the Lord, whose love is steadfast and forever. Throughout the pandemic, we have seen the pitfalls in our social structure. We have learned that every human is essential, and actualizing the potential of all people is necessary for our wellbeing. Will that knowledge impact the way we do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our Lord*? Or will it encourage us to eat, drink, and be merry** until the next crisis strikes?

Prayer: We wait for your guidance as we emerge out of a pandemic that has changed our lives. Grant us the wisdom to learn from our mistakes. Amen.

*From Micah 6:8
**See Isaiah 22:13; Proverbs 23:35; Luke 12:19; 1 Corinthians 15:32

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.