Tag Archives: Justice

Doing God’s Righteousness

Advent

December 18, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Romans 16:25-27
Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Seeking God’s guidance in how we live our faith is key to everything we do. Understanding God’s guidance requires us, as with our computers continually, to clear the cookies that send us in wrong directions or clutter our storage space so much we do not have room in our souls to receive God’s righteousness. We must do this regarding every aspect of life. I remember sticking my arm out to protect a foster child I was transporting when I had to slam on my brakes to miss an animal in the road. My arm would have been useless if that had been a car pulling in front of me. So, we now have seat belts and child seats. I had no problem adapting to seatbelts, but a lot of people did, some still do.

It is sometimes harder to reassess faith issues, often handed to us by parents or respected faith leaders. Both were doing their best to train up their children in the way they should go* at the time. My ancestors who owned slaves, probably referred to passages in the Bible to support that practice. Polygamy was as much an economic reality as a faith construct. Having been raised on a farm, I can assure you that the women worked as hard as the men. They just had different duties. Those same duties changed when industrialization increased. Such changes have resulted in imbalances of worth among occupations. Gleaning what is right, what is just, requires God’s enlightenment from well-practiced communication individually and in communion with other people of faith. Such dialogue must include a careful discernment of how our worldview shapes our faith rather than the example of Jesus Christ and God’s righteousness.

*See Proverbs 22:6

Prayer: Lord, help us discern your righteousness and justice as we serve you in this world today. 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.

God’s Covenants

Advent

December 16, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
   with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
   your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

You said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
   I have sworn to my servant David:
“I will establish your descendants forever,
   and build your throne for all generations.”-Psalm 89:1-4

The translator of the Bible cited below adds titles to the scriptures. The title for the above scripture is God’s Covenant with David. The word covenant is important in the Bible. The word can describe an agreement between people, but the Bible particularly talks about the Covenants between God and people. Most often, these covenants are defined as a divine constitution or ordinance with signs or pledges*. In some instances, covenants between specific people and God are cited, for example:

Noah– a divine promise that there would be no other deluge.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob– a promise to multiply their seed, give them the land of Canaan, and make them a blessing to the nations.
Phinehas–a constitution, establishing an everlasting priesthood in his line
Joshua and Israel — an ordinance or constitutional agreement to serve Yahweh only
David– a divine promise to the seed of David of an everlasting kingdom, the relation of sonship

The Psalm above relates to David’s covenant with God and is of particular importance to Christ-followers of the first century and today who see Jesus as the heir of this divine promise. Indeed, it is almost impossible for Christians to read such scriptures and not see Jesus as that Son.

Really good literature that remains relevant over time has the quality of being truth for the day it describes and truth for future readers. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. While people can stray from their commitments to God, God’s unconditional covenants are everlasting.

During this Advent season, during times that try peoples’ souls, God’s eternal goodness and mercy and loving patience with us is something to be celebrated.

Prayer: Praise God for always being with us in good times and troubled times. We continue to celebrate Emmanuel, God with Us. Amen.

* https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1285.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.

Love Came Down at Christmas

Advent

December 14, 2020

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; …Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established forever. –2 Samuel 7:5-8, 16

Of course, David’s son, Solomon, eventually built an elaborate temple for the Lord. Having a central place to worship and coordinate mission work and education is helpful, but our scripture above indicates not required. The COVID pandemic has challenged us much in maintaining our work in God’s service outside of the norms to which we are accustomed. Having had to work outside the box or, in this case, the building has made us prioritize and become more creative. While I will welcome someday returning to our sanctuary to worship, I am sure this experience has taught us many useful lessons.

The first week of shutting down and sheltering at home last March was hard. My first reaction to most challenges is to do something. I do not define doing nothing as “something.”  Since that early experience, I realized that we are not called to do “something” we are called to love in righteousness. We are called, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to discern what is right and what is just in the eyes of God, in all aspects of our lives and all interactions with others.

During this time, set aside in our calendars of life, to acknowledge the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior, let us take the time to review and renew our calling to love in righteousness.

Love came down at Christmas,
love all lovely, Love divine;
Love was born at Christmas;
star and angels gave the sign.

Love shall be our token;
love be yours and love be mine;
love to God and others,
love for plea and gift and sign*.

Prayer: Spirit of God fall afresh on us this Christmas as we prepare to face a new year. Amen.

*First and last verse of Love Came Down at Christmas by Christina Georgina Rossetti

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.

Influences that Shape Us

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Advent

December 8, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Luke 1:46b-55
And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
   and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
   Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
   from generation to generation.
Hz has shown strength with his arm;
   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
   and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
   to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’

Theologian John Dominic Crossan suggests that Jesus’s family might have been deeply impacted by the destruction of the town of Sepphoris in 4 BCE, which is about the time of Jesus’s birth. Some suggest that it was Mary’s place of birth, located six miles from Nazareth. Joseph may have practiced his trade there. The village does have a fascinating history *. Think about how the Oklahoma City bombing changed us in Oklahoma City or how our whole nation was impacted by the destruction of the World Trade Center, particularly the people of New York City. I think it fair to say that significant changes resulted from both events.

Mary’s song of celebration quoted above states well the hope in God of an oppressed people needing to be saved from evil forces in the world. Jesus came to save us all from the forces of evil and to create a world ruled by the love of God. Jesus may have sung such a song as a child as he developed into his leadership role. Please read it carefully and see the acts of Jesus is foresees.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for giving us the gift of loving parents who guide us to live your love in the world today. Amen.

*For a quick review, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepphoris

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.

Given Time to Repent

Advent

December 4, 2020

Scripture Reading:
2 Peter 3:8-15a
But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.

Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.

The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

I do not support the use of the death penalty in any circumstances. Thus, it broke my heart when I read that after 17 years with no federal executions, our nation since July 2020 has been executing people. My stance on the death penalty is based on the belief that no human has the right to limit the time for a person to repent. I also see execution as rendering a final judgment, which I believe is God’s job and not any human’s assignment. There are, however, many non-faith based reasons for stopping executions. It does not serve as a deterrent to crime, it cost far more to execute someone than to sentence them to life in prison, and at least 18 people have been executed since 1976 who were most likely innocent of the crime for which they were sentenced to death*. There have been 167 exonerations of prisoners on death row in the United States since 1973**. I have no idea why we started executing people again other than having the power to do it, right or wrong.

Peter, the author of the above scripture, knew well the importance of repentance after denying even knowing Jesus three times on the night of his trial. Legend has it that when Peter was executed, he asked to be hung on the cross upside down as he felt unworthy of hanging on the cross in the same manner Jesus had. Peter committed no crime worthy of death when he was executed rather than upset Rome’s principalities and powers. Jesus was executed for standing up to religious leaders who were envious of his power.

Prayer: God, forgive us as a nation for preempting your power of final judgment. Help us learn to restore the prisoner as you restored Peter. 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.

Righteousness and Love

Advent

December 2, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

Lord, you were favorable to your land;
   you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
   you pardoned all their sin.
          Selah
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
   for he will speak peace to his people,
   to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
   that his glory may dwell in our land.

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
   righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
   and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good,
   and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him,
   and will make a path for his steps.

Why is it so hard to do what is right? Why do we define what is right only as it applies to what is advantageous to self? I love that phrase righteousness and peace will kiss each other. God’s righteousness is the cornerstone of our way of being. God’s righteousness entails steadfast love and faithfulness. God’s righteousness demands that our righteousness considers the wellbeing of others.

We have learned a lot about ourselves amid responding to the COVID pandemic. We do consider ourselves to be privileged people. As a result, we ended up having the worst outcomes of the pandemic than any other industrialized nation in the world. I shall never forget almost 40 years ago when my boss, whom I highly respected, was diagnosed with HIV. It was the early years of that epidemic, and such a diagnosis was often a death sentence. Indeed, it was for him. As we prepared for his return to work and were concerned about staff responses, we held staff meetings where medical professionals explained how the disease was spread and that we were not in danger. I spoke to every one of my staff afterward. To a person except for one, the response was the same. They all were only concerned about the one who was sick, and many mentioned praying for him. The one exception informed me that the medical staff did not know what they were saying. That HIV could be carried through the air. I asked her how I could help her feel more comfortable about his returning if she feared she would catch the disease. And she responded that she was the apple of God’s eye. God was protecting her from HIV. It was the rest of us that needed to worry. I said OK, and she left my office. That conversation left a lasting impression on me. All God’s children are the apple of his eye, and our faithfulness to God is drawn from his unconditional love, which we are called to emulate.

Prayer: God, forgive us when we drift away from your love to the extent that we do not love one another as you would have us to 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

God is Faithful

Advent

November 28, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God is faithful. In our world today, we have few, if any other, absolutes to grasp. Our federal government is in shambles, divided so deep we see no means of rising above the discord. Self-righteousness has replaced justice. Once our Supreme Court decided that corporations had all the rights of a person, the door was opened for money being poured into campaigns enticing voters to select options that were against their best interest. The rich got richer. The number of persons classified as poor grew greater

Corinth, too, had its fair share of discord and division when Paul first wrote to them. Yet, he opened the letter with the salutation that they were already equipped to deal with the array of problems they faced because God is faithful. God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to strengthen us and guide us in reshaping the world in the ways of God, the faithful one. Nowhere does Paul suggest that such a mission would be easy. He simply says we are graced with what it takes to make it happen.

One of our first challenges is bringing the Body of Christ together to find common ground. The early church was very divided on many things. The one thing they agreed on was helping the poor. We might start there, too.

Prayer: Faithful God, weave us together as we strive to be the Body of Christ in our world today. 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.

Judge Jesus

Living in the Spirit

November 22, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Matthew 25:31-46
‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’

I had an AHA! moment some years ago when I finally realized that God appointed Jesus to be my judge and everyone else’s judge, too. He even took the time to tell us ahead what his judgment criteria would be:

  1. Feed the hungry
  2. Provide water for the thirsty,
  3. Welcome the stranger
  4. Clothe the naked
  5. Care for the sick
  6. Restore the prisoner

The first thing that seems to be missing here is failure to obey laws. While there are laws in the Hebrew Bible that address each of these to one degree or another, Jesus is making the point that we will be judged on our active behavior regarding others, not on how we obey laws or even on how many times we worship or pray or study the Bible. Indeed, all these activities are necessary to support the work that we are called to do but they are not the work. There is also no hint of comparing any of us to anyone else. God knows our hearts and the potential that was instilled in each of us at our creation. We will be judged on how well we fulfilled that potential in loving one another.

Prayer: Lord, help us to honor you by following your example as you loved others. 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.

Equal in the Eyes of God

Living in the Spirit

November 9, 2020

The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. So the Lord sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly for twenty years.

At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgement. She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, “Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.” ’

Scripture Reading: Judges 4:1-7

Deborah was a strong woman. I named my web address after her. She held the position of judge in a very violent time. I do not believe that violence is ever the best solution to anything. Once things get out of hand, it is often the only answer. But it was not the violence that attracted her leadership to me. I liked her perseverance and her common sense.

I strongly think our nation is at a crossroad where we must decide who and what we want to be. Many are totally disgusted with our national government. Honestly, our leadership is a mirror representation of we the people. If we dig through the writings of the Hebrew Bible prophets, we will see ourselves in the people’s reflection of that time. The Bible calls them idols, which represent the lesser gods of their generation the same ones we turn to today. Their worship services included the latest and greatest innovation but were targeted at a likeness of the Creator God molded in an image that addressed their desires. Self-righteousness replaced God’s righteousness.

The image of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem prior to his crucifixion comes to my mine when I consider the state of or world. I am particularly puzzled by the prevalent attitude that people think their worth depends on being better than someone else. For those of us who claim to serve the Creator God being better than anyone else is simply impossible. God created all humans in God’s image. Our founders etched that thought into the framing of our democracy, all people are created equal. Granted those were not the actual first words, which were all men are created equal. It took a couple of hundred years for women to get the right to vote. In the beginning of our nation only landowners could vote, and black people were allotted the right to be only three-fifths human and not allowed to vote. They only received that classification because slave owners wanted a higher count of their population so they could have more representation in Congress. The indigenous people did not rate a mention. We have carried the heresy that one’s worth is based on being better than others from our founding. We do not seem to love God enough to accept his original establishment of the worth of each person. Correcting that heresy is a first step in redemption as individuals, as the Body of Christ in the world today, and as participants in the great experiment of democracy based on the equality of all.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for our failure to accept our worth as established in our very creation. Heal our souls so that we may love you and love one another as you would have us to 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Prevention

Living in the Spirit

November 8, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:1-13
‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. —Benjamin Franklin

If 95% of people wore a mask as recommended to prevent COVID-19, 130,000 lives could be saved by February. — (NPR)

The best way to better overall health is to eat right and exercise regularly.

The best way to stop abortions is to prevent unplanned, unwanted pregnancies.

We humans tend to enjoy gambling with our lives and in the case of wearing masks, the lives of others. I wonder if that is a modern reality or an eternal trait. I have noticed that the worst sins our culture identifies relate to limited populations of people of whom the self-appointed sin judges of our society are not members. Those change over time. History tells us that being left-handed was a sin otherwise known as the mark of the devil before the 20th century. Adultery was once a capital crime. I guess it has reached herd immunity of acceptance because it seems to have dropped out of the top ten sin ratings. Self-righteousness may have become this culture’s greatest sin.

The only absolute in God’s Kingdom is love. The only herd immunity in God’s Kingdom is love. All of our ways of being must be driven by love.

Prayer: Lord of Love, open our hearts and minds to setting our priorities within the bounds 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.