Tag Archives: Justice

Dealing with Treachery

Ash Wednesday

February 17, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 25:1-10

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust;
   do not let me be put to shame;
   do not let my enemies exult over me.
Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
   let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
   teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
   for you are the God of my salvation;
   for you I wait all day long. –Psalm 25:1-5

If—by Rudyard Kipling is good advice for all people. It certainly is appropriate for times such as these.  It is posted below if you want to read it. I memorized it in grade school, and it floats through my mind occasionally now. The first phrase, If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, crossed my mind when I read the scripture for today.

I must confess some of the Psalms of retribution make me uncomfortable. I would like to think I am above such resentments. Wanton treacherousness does exist in our world. Truth has become what can be repeated the most by many sources, dubious though they may be. Yet, freedom of speech is a bedrock of the USA democracy.

So, I thank God for being there for me when I need to rant and rave about some injustice I have observed or mistreatment I have perceived. I probably would never publish those words. Yet, I think the Psalms of vengeance and retribution permit us to take our frustrations and fears directly to God. When we turn them over to God and God cleanses us of their uselessness, God transfers that energy into resilience for doing justice and seeking God’s righteousness, enabling us to keep our heads when others are not.

Prayer: God of Mercy and Justice, thank you for hearing us out when we are frustrated and do not know how to deal with wanton treachery. Channel our emotions into positive work toward justice and righteousness throughout our world. Amen.

If you can keep your head when all about you
    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
    But make allowance for their doubting too;  
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;  
    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;  
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
    And treat those two impostors just the same;  
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
    And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
    To serve your turn long after they are gone,  
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,  
    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
    If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,  
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, 
    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

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.

Care of the Earth

Discipleship

February 15, 2021

Scripture Reading: Genesis 9:8-17
Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ‘As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.’ –Genesis 9:8-11

I made a quick run to the grocery store today because a massive weather system is heading toward Oklahoma with predictions of a lot of snow and perhaps even a blizzard. My car data indicated it was 16 degrees outside when I backed out of my driveway. It dropped to 11 degrees by the time I parked at the store. I got my food and, hurrying back to my car, saw a bird perched on a grocery cart left stranded in the lot. The bird looked so cold and almost like it was in shock. I am no expert on birds, but it was medium-sized with various shades of brown feathers. Where do birds go in freezing weather? The news reported earlier this week that a mother dog and her newborn pups had been found, all frozen to death. Another litter of pubs had been tossed in a store trash can. Staff heard them and rescued them even though their little mouths were frozen shut when they were first discovered.

Climate change is impacting all creatures, great and small. Earlier in Genesis, humans were given dominion over the earth, God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ –Genesis 1:28 We are responsible for the care of the earth and all that is in it. Dominion means to rule over, which sometimes leads people to think they are authorized to use the world for personal aggrandizement. God, the Creator, is the ultimate example of one who rules. We are to follow his example of not destroying the planet.

Prayer: Lord, teach us how to care for the earth as you ordained us to do. 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.

Light

Discipleship

February 12, 2021

Scripture Reading:
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

We have received the calling to let light shine out of darkness as we deal with all the chaos in our world today. COVID playing out amid political upheaval with record breaking bad weather is a true test for our souls. Such responsibility requires us to dwell mightily with the Lord who must refine us, purify us so that we are an open window to the light of God’s love not heavy curtains blacking out all that is of God.

First, we must do nothing for our own gain.  The gift of justice is equity for all.

Second, we must truly learn how to walk humbly with our Lord (Micah 6:8) while vigorously seeking justice and mercy for all.

Third, we must fully comprehend that our work for the fulfillment of God’s Kingdom in our world means living in peace and harmony with those who fight against us in our work for justice. It is heartbreaking to see people vote against their own best interest regarding accessible, affordable health care, living-wage jobs, or quality education for their children. They are being distracted by ideas, often myths, that hardly, if ever, positively impact them. Some of which are a danger to themselves and others.

Prayer: Lord of Light, illuminate us in our quest to share your love throughout our world. Purify us and prepare us to reflect your light in all we do. 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.

Made in the Image of God

Discipleship

February 11, 2021

Scripture Reading:
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The world’s gods seem to be blinding the minds of some who profess their faith in Jesus Christ and believe very strongly that what they perceive as Christlike is. I fear we all do that from time to time. Separating our image of God from God’s actual image at times is hard. It is even more challenging when we do it in a group with others who share the same vision of God that we create. We read Biblical history and world history and think, I cannot believe people did those acts in God’s name. It makes me wonder what the people who read our history in a couple of hundred years will say regarding what we sanctioned and practiced. Our ancestors did form a nation that practices the separation of church and state, which I support. I do not think there is anything in the Bible or Constitution of the United States that provides us the right to separate ourselves from God’s commandment to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. When I read that the two biggest spreaders of the COVID virus are houses of worship and bars, I cringe. We may have the right to disobey a government order to wear a mask to reduce the virus’s spread; we have the free will to break God’s commandments, but that does not make it right. We will face the consequences of that decision. We may find ourselves standing by the bedside or even graveside of someone we may have infected. We will stand before God in judgment.

Prayer: Lord, clear our soul vision to seek your image of what your love is like rather than conjuring up our own. 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.

Being a Neighbor

Discipleship

February 7, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 1:29-39

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is searching for you.’ He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’ And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. -Mark 1:35-39

Indeed, who are our neighbors? I am currently reading the book, This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the troubled History of Thanksgiving, by David J. Silverman. It describes the interplay between the New World’s indigenous people and the English settlers during the last half of the 17th Century centered around the King Philip’s War. When I read the scripture for today, I was immediately drawn to the descriptions of the interactions of the natives and their new neighbors. Some came to practice their faith as they understood it, having been persecuted for their beliefs in England. Some of the European immigrants did bring the stories of Jesus to the tribes and greeted them as equals. They were the exception. Others taught their ideas and claimed to save many of the natives’ souls. They were called the praying Indians and afforded some special treatment. At the close of the King Philip’s War, they got to be slaves of the white people rather than being slaughtered. Is there anything in the four gospels that justifies such behavior?

I also am a fan of PBS’s Finding Your Roots series. The most recent show told the stories of two people whose ancestors were Irish arriving in the USA in the late 1800s. Henry Louis Gates Jr., the star of the show, shared copies of newspaper ads for maids and nannies that included the phrase, No Irish Need Apply. He commented that every group of new immigrants to the USA was greeted with similar discrimination. How can we go into all the world and make disciples* if we treat our neighbors like this?

People who need to be better than others feel inferior in some way. How do we erase this misperception from our culture? How do we cleanse ourselves of not recognizing that we, along with everyone else, were created in the image of God with unique skills and talents? All are necessary and important in God’s Kingdom.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for forsaking your call to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Make who whole in our relationship with you, to enable our wholeness in our relationship with our neighbors. Amen.

*Matthew 28:19-20

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 as Healer

Discipleship

February 6, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 1:29-39

As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. –Mark 1: 29-34

We are called to be the Body of Christ in the world today. Jesus was a healer of both physical and mental illnesses. While we may not possess the ability to lay our hands on someone and heal them, we continue to be called to bring health-wholeness into the lives of all people. We are now caught in a world more concerned with making a profit on health care than keeping people healthy.

54% of Americans with medical debt have no other debts.
Around 530,000 families file for bankruptcy due to medical expenses, every year.
Medical bankruptcies represent 62% of all personal bankruptcies.
20% of all medical bankruptcy filers are people over the age of 55.
20.1% of families who file for medical bankruptcy are military families.
48% of those who filed for medical bankruptcy say hospital bill was their largest expense.
70% of Americans with medical bills had to lower their spending on food to avoid bankruptcy*.

Making quality, essential health care available to all people benefits everyone. We are seeing that now as COVID-19 spreads across our world. We also experience it in routine health care provision. For example, a 47-year-old man with no insurance is so sick he is not able to work. He finally goes to an emergency center in acute pain and is diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. He dies three months later. Payment for his care will be written into the hospital’s operational cost, which will eventually be factored into everyone’s hospital payments. Not only was his emergency treatment expensive, but a family lost its primary breadwinner, and the community lost a much-needed skilled laborer. Those adverse outcomes would not have happened if he had received routine preventive health services along the way, including a colonoscopy.

Prayer: Lord, broaden our vision to see creative ways to meet our world’s health care needs using efficient and effective practices and heal us of the greed that holds us back from implementing them. Amen.

* https://spendmenot.com/blog/medical-bankruptcy-statistics/

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.

Word and Deed

Discipleship

January 30, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 1:21-28
They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Actions speak louder than words is an adage. There is undoubtedly some truth in it. Words, too, are essential, and we undermine our words when we do not live them. John attests to us that Jesus was the Word become flesh. We need to hear his words and live them. Mark, in the above segment, did not share what Jesus taught, but the story tells us that during the sermon, Jesus healed a man with an unclean spirit. He was living his love.

The Bible talks about false prophets, even false messiahs. We live in a world filled with false prophets. Such people say whatever they think we want to hear to gain power or money. We have an epidemic in our land now where we are being told we cannot believe anything anyone says except the false prophets. Seeking truth is necessary.

Sometimes I feel like I write the same thing repeatedly in these devotions, and I do. I borrowed one of those ideas from Jesus, who repeated and applied it regularly. If the words and deeds are not wrapped in love, they are not of God. The world is complex, and sin makes it more complicated.

I read a media post this morning from a young woman who said we are the world’s most privileged people. Our poverty level is much higher than any other country. She was writing from a coffee shop where she noted everyone had laptops or phones and nice cars in the parking lot. I guess she was saying we should be thankful for what we have and enjoy it. She did not source her information, but I am sure the defined level at which one is considered to be living in poverty is higher in the USA than in many places in the world. I doubt it is higher than all areas. My first thought is that there are no borders in God’s Kingdom. As Christ-followers, we are called to help all of God’s children have enough of at least necessities. My second thought was that in a country where one out of every four children is classified as food insecure*, the young woman needs to find out if the person who served her is paid less per hour than the cost of the fancy coffee she was drinking.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when our privilege blinds us to the needs of others. Open our eyes to see the people in our world, like the man with the unclean spirit, as we share your Word with others. Amen.

*https://www.npr.org/2020/09/27/912486921/food-insecurity-in-the-u-s-by-the-numbers

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.

From Containment to Right Action

Epiphany

January 19, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.

I am so claustrophobic I probably would not have survived three days in the belly of a whale, but being caught in a whale of containment apparently gave Jonah the time he needed to come to his senses and follow God’s teachings. Living for 11 months sheltering at home, attending meetings through Zoom, and attending live-streamed worship may be the closest thing to the belly of a whale that I have experienced. I have read several novels and biographies born out of World War II and the Holocaust during this time. Learning from reading has enlightened me further on trusting in God whatever the situation, the great pain of loss, but the power to move forward no matter what.

We do not know how 2020 and 2021 will be described in history. Charles Dickens may have summed it up best when he wrote in A Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

In the final analysis, our future is in our hands, and with God’s guidance, we can learn from our foolishness and incredulity clothed in darkness and channel our energies into light and hope and love. Like Jonah, we are being spat upon the earth to continue our mission of spreading God’s love throughout the world, and we need to start here at home.

Prayer: God of possibilities, help us learn from our mistakes as we strive to love our way into your light. 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.

There is no Magic Wane

Epiphany

January 17, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 1:43-51
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you come to know me?’ Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.’ And he said to him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’

‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ We have morphed into a society that longs for magic wanes to wave and get whatever we want. I do not understand from where that attitude comes. Most people would not word it that way, but I think it describes well our attitudes. We hear about white privilege a lot these days, and I know that is real. I think we may also need to deal with the concept of privilege being expected in most aspects of our lives. Parents bribe schools so the school will accept their children who might or might not otherwise be accepted. Wealthy, influential people are trying to go to the front of the line for the COVID-19 vaccine. A young woman attacked a 14-year-old claiming he had stolen her phone when he was using his phone. She thought she had done nothing wrong.  People think being required to wear a mask to curb the spread of a deadly virus is an infringement of their first amendment rights. A mob storms the Capitol of the United States, resulting in five people’s deaths and many injuries because their candidate did not win the election.

Privilege is not a new phenomenon. Amos addressed it when he described some of the women of Israel; he called the Cows of Bashan (Amos 4:1-3). Cows are fed well as they are prepped for slaughter. Greed and lust for power always pave the road to destruction.

As we start a new year and a new administration in Washington D. C., let us evaluate ourselves for attitudes and actions that are not of God but represent the privilege we have come to expect.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when our self-centeredness and self-righteousness prevents us from doing your justice. Show us the better 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.

Renewal

Epiphany

January 9, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Mark 1:4-11
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.‘

I am re-reading the Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. With all that is going on in our nation, I feel the need to be re-grounded in my faith. While I may not agree with him in every aspect of his thinking, he forces me to consider where I am in my faith development. He was one who saw evil working its will on people without their knowledge. John the Baptist also fits that mold. It seems God’s way with God’s people is always to warn them away from unjust behavior before they suffer the consequences of their choices. John prepared the people for the coming of Jesus. Jesus prepared us for the coming of the Kingdom of God and its characteristics. Yet, we at times forget that we are charged with being a part of that Kingdom now. Paul, recognizing that fact, noted his struggle to fulfill the responsibility, For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. (Romans 7:19)

Evil is cunning. Fred Craddock wrote a Bible study many years ago that I am not sure was formally published. I do not even remember the name of it. What I do remember is he posits that people tend to sin not in their weakness but in the areas of their greatest strength. I have heard in the news several times recently that the USA is the example of real democracy. They cannot believe some of the things happening here now, describing them as similar to a banana republic. History has shown us that we pay a heavy price for the outcomes when we become indifferent to our responsibilities. The Hebrew prophets like Amos and Hosea delivered this message. It certainly was Bonhoeffer’s message in response to Hitler.

If we are to live in God’s righteousness/justice, we must practice it in every aspect of our lives and enable others to practice it.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we get so caught up in our culture we forget we are to live in the culture of your Kingdom. 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.