Tag Archives: Justice

Feeding the Body, Feeding the Soul

Living in the Spirit

August 1, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 14:13-21
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

There exist a significant disconnect between the haves and the have nots in our world today, especially in big cities where populations cluster in groups by economic status. Growing up on a farm and going to a small rural school provided me a different perspective on life. In every classroom, there was a bell curve of the haves, and the have nots and all those in between. Everyone lived off the land to one degree or another. Wild poke grew on the creek that flowed through our farm. I like poke, but not as much as I enjoyed lamb’s quarter, which grew in our yard and the pasture near our house. As the youngest in the family, I was the primary harvester of lamb’s quarter. There is nothing better than wild blueberry or sand plum jelly. I did not know frog legs were a delicacy in some places in the world until I was an adult. When my dad got hungry for frogs legs, he would venture down to our pond and bring enough back for dinner. While urban gardens exist, a couple just a few blocks from my house, living off the land is not a choice for most. Many even live in food deserts where there are no grocery stores for blocks. The available businesses selling food often only provide pre-packaged overprocessed food with little nutritional value.

In the scripture above, Jesus is illustrating both the importance of meeting bodily nutritional needs as well as teaching our spiritual responsibility assuring that everyone has enough of both foods for the body and the soul.

Prayer:  Creator God, you provided for us the earth and all that is within it, filled with the resource potential to assure that everyone has enough of the necessities of life. Help us build a world that ensures all have access to enough. 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.

All in All

Living in the Spirit

July 30, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
   slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
   and his compassion is over all that he has made.

The Lord upholds all who are falling,
   and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
   and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand,
   satisfying the desire of every living thing.
The Lord is just in all his ways,
   and kind in all his doings.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
   to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfils the desire of all who fear him;
   he also hears their cry, and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love him,
   but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
   and all flesh will bless his holy name for ever and ever.

If I counted right the word, “all” appears 13 times in the above scripture. Do you think the Psalmist is trying to tell us something? Perhaps he or she is trying to tell us something that we have been missing. People have a long history of trying to sort out who is better and who is not. Misogyny appeared shortly after Adam and Eve walked out of the Garden of Eden. The Bible is full of stories of tribalism. Racism sprang to life as a thing around the 17th century. Persons with disabilities or differences in appearance have always been treated differently. Jacob’s first, and undesired wife, is described as having something amiss with her eyes. The meaning of the word describing her eyes has apparently been lost, but it is translated in many ways to avoid saying not as attractive as her sister Rachel’s.

Why is it that we cannot accept God at God’s word? God indeed sees us as individuals, each with his or her worth that can never be measured against anyone else’s worth. And here we are as a people who seem to need to create hierarchies of quality based on our own worldly values, not God’s. We are a long way from the Kingdom of God, Jesus envisioned.

We do not need to stay here. God created each of us in God’s image and, therefore, we are all capable of loving all without bias and bigotry. It starts with us accepting the worth God instilled in each of us and seeking that image in all others.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we do not see your gift of worth is all we need and all anyone needs. 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 god of Greed

Living in the Spirit

The Worship of Mammon

July 29, 2020

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 55:1-5
Ho, everyone who thirsts,
   come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
   come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
   without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
   and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
   and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
   listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
   my steadfast, sure love for David.
See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
   a leader and commander for the peoples.
See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
   and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
   for he has glorified you.

Paul Krugman’s article in the 7-28-2020 New York Times is titled, The Cult of Selfishness Is Killing America. I had just read that piece before I read the above scripture. Another scripture came to mind.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. 1 Timothy 6:10

Socialism is now the dirty word of the year. I do not know anyone that wants collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and control of the distribution of goods. Most people I know are glad we have police officers and firefighters and food and sanitation regulators. I have had food poisoning, and I do not ever want to have it again. I do not like ruining my tires and suspension on bad roads. I know that quality education for all is a necessary foundation for having a productive workforce, as is good health. I heard on the news just recently that a big company did not choose to open a new facility in my state because we had a weak education system. Government that provides for the Common Good is essential to sustaining our capitalistic economy.

The greed that is ruling our land is ruining our economy. Those who came to what is now the USA for religious freedom soon got caught in greed’s snares with lust for land. We christened it and made it holy, calling it the Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny. Plantation owners discovered they could make a lot more money with slaves than paid staff. We denigrated a whole cadre of people linking their worth to the color of their skin and defining them as three-fifths of a person each so they could be counted in the distribution of legislators but could not vote. Still today, we have onerous and antiquated immigration policies that reinforce entering or staying in our country undocumented, resulting in people working for substandard pay with no benefits. Being undocumented also allows them to be controlled by the fear of deportation.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for letting the idol of greed dominate our lives. Amen.

*Definition of Socialism  see https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/socialism

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 is the Kingdom of Heaven Like?

Living in the Spirit

July 26, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’

He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’

‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.’

The Kingdom of Heaven:

  • Provides a home for every kind of bird.
  • Is more valuable than any treasure we otherwise might invest our time and energy to gain, including beautiful jewels.
  • Is diverse and inclusive with God’s angels, not us, as the judges in the final analysis.

We are called to be those scribes trained to yield a world using God’s design encompassing the richness of the past acts of God, and the newness of innovation as the Spirit leads us. We are to tend our fields growing wholeness, oneness, and justice and discovering and enabling the hidden treasures within ourselves and all our neighbors. I believe God would be overjoyed at the end of the age if God’s angels went forth to separate the evil from the righteous and found nothing to throw away because we had done our job well.  

Prayer: Lord, enable us as scribes trained to do our part in building the Kingdom of Heaven. 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.

Harriet Tubman

Living in the Spirit

July 24, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 119:129-136

Your decrees are wonderful;
   therefore my soul keeps them.
The unfolding of your words gives light;
   it imparts understanding to the simple.
With open mouth I pant,
   because I long for your commandments.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
   as is your custom towards those who love your name.
Keep my steps steady according to your promise,
   and never let iniquity have dominion over me.
Redeem me from human oppression,
   that I may keep your precepts.
Make your face shine upon your servant,
   and teach me your statutes.
My eyes shed streams of tears
   because your law is not kept.

I watched a documentary on Harriet Tubman* yesterday evening. It was particularly useful although I did not learn anything new. I saw a live reenactment of her life a few years ago that also told her story well. What this documentary brought back to my memory was her unquestioned faith in God. I needed to hear that again. She said,

’Twant me, ’twas the Lord. I always told him, “I trust to you. I don’t know where to go or what to do, but I expect you to lead me,” and he always did.

And God did redeem her from human oppression, and through her, God redeemed many other slaves when she served as a conductor on the Underground Railroad.

Harriett Tubman has wise words for us today as we struggle to deal with injustice:

Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

The reshaping of our world toward greater justice, indeed righteousness, begins with each of us as we strive to live justly and then to go forth and do justice together under the Lord’s leadership. For whenever we gather in God’s presence, the synergy of the Spirit carries us forward toward the full realization of God’s Kingdom.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for role models like Harriet Tubman, who modeled her life after you. Guide us, too, to follow your ways as we strive toward righteousness and justice. Amen.

*See on Amazon Prime Videos

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.

Government of the People

Living in the Spirit

July 23, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Kings 3:5-12

At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, ‘Ask what I should give you.’ And Solomon said, ‘You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart towards you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?’ –1 Kings 3:5-10

What part does “the people” a leader serves play in how the leader rules? Politicians often win because they say what they discern the people want to hear whether they act on it in office or not. Sometimes our elected leaders legislate what the people want when it is not the best thing for either the people or society in general. It takes a brave office holder to explain the reality of what is desired against what the outcome might be. During the current pandemic, I have heard the unemployment office being criticized for having an antiquated computer system that cannot handle the volume of work required with all the layoffs. Health departments are being criticized for having out-of-date systems so we can have the latest data regarding COVID-19. I can assure you that neither state nor federal agencies wanted to work with old systems. In Oklahoma, the failure to maintain adequate infrastructure is the result of years of tax cuts backed by the people who now do not understand why they are standing in line for hours to get unemployment.  

Solomon asked God for an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people? Perhaps Solomon’s wisdom was seeing the difficulty of the task. Transparency and truth are the keys to a successful community. In the final analysis, government is a formalization of communities at every level. God calls us to a society where we not only consider what is best for ourselves but what is best for all God’s children. Ultimately what is right for others is also good for ourselves when we can see the bigger picture of a righteous and just world.

Prayer: Lord, we too ask for understanding minds to discern between good and evil, which will help us support our government officials who work for righteousness and justice. 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.

Reflecting God in our Ethics

Living in the Spirit

July 20, 2020

Scripture Reading: Genesis 29:15-28
Then Laban said to Jacob, ‘Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?’ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, ‘I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.’ Laban said, ‘It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.’ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

Then Jacob said to Laban, ‘Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.’ So Laban gathered together all the people of the place, and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) When morning came, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, ‘What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?’ Laban said, ‘This is not done in our country—giving the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me for another seven years.’ Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as a wife.

Many years ago, my division in a state government agency put out a bid for a new and improved computer system to support a major program. When the bids arrived, one was $2,000,000 less than the next lowest bid. If any bid contained all the required components, we had to take the lowest bid. In this instance, the Lowest was not the best bid. The company developed the program and announced the project was completed. It had not been tested. Beta testing is required of all computer programs because they all have glitches that need to be fixed. The company said there were no provisions in the contract for beta testing, but if we wanted to add beta testing, they could do it for about $2,000,000. Of course, the only people who could do the field test were the ones who created it. We had been royally hoodwinked.

Jacob was a con artist as apparently was his new father-in-law. Where does ethics fit in our lives? Is our word as good as our deeds? And if we put ourselves forth as followers of God, what does our behavior tells others about God?

No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. — Matthew 5:15–16

Prayer: Lord, keep us mindful of how our actions leave impressions on 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.

Care of All People

Living in the Spirit

July 14, 2020

Scripture Reading: Wisdom of Solomon
12:13, 16-19
For neither is there any god besides you, whose care is for all people,
to whom you should prove that you have not judged unjustly;
For your strength is the source of righteousness,
and your sovereignty over all causes you to spare all.
For you show your strength when people doubt the completeness of your power,
and you rebuke any insolence among those who know it.
Although you are sovereign in strength, you judge with mildness,
and with great forbearance you govern us;
for you have power to act whenever you choose.
Through such works you have taught your people
that the righteous must be kind,
and you have filled your children with good hope,
because you give repentance for sins.

Why is it so hard for humans to accept that God cares for all people? What is it in human nature that drives us to compare ourselves to others to judge our self-worth? We are made in the image of God, not the other way around.

How does God show God’s strength? For you show your strength when people doubt the completeness of your power. The ancients believed that the gods punished people by sending plagues and bad weather to rebuke any insolence. I have never made such a linear pattern of causation. I do believe that God created a world that is based on God’s values of interdependence and love for one another. We do face the consequences of our behavior. Not dealing with climate change is probably the most threatening reality facing our world. Our attitude toward that is the same response we are demonstrating when we think wearing a mask to protect others from COVID-19 is an infringement on our rights.

Freedoms provided for in the Constitution of the United States pale in comparison to the free will God granted us when the world was created.  God gave us dominion over the earth. Dominion includes responsibility. We pay a heavy price when we choose to flaunt that privilege to the detriment of what is right and just in keeping our world operating as it was created to be. We are called to follow in God’s example of caring for all people, even if it requires us to wear a mask, wash our hands, and practice physical distancing. Caring for all people means we do not judge others by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character* as we work to become anti-racists. Caring for all people means we address systemic problems related to our climate so that our earth will continue to sustain us for many years to come.

Prayer: Lord, today, renew our commitment to using our freedom wisely in the care of all people. Amen.

*Martin Luther King Jr.

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.

Manifest Destiny?

Living in the Spirit

Living in the Spirit

July 13, 2020

Scripture Reading: Genesis 28:10-19a

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went towards Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!’ And he was afraid, and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’ –Genesis 28:10-17

Land grants began with Abram. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.’ (Genesis 15:18-21) . Genesis 26:3 continues the land grant for Isaac, and Exodus 23:13 describes the boundaries of the Promised Land to Moses.

I struggle with scriptures like the ones above. Didn’t God create the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, and others also? Were they not made in the image of God? I understand the calling of Abraham to be a blessing to other nations but was taking their land from them being a blessing? Is there a record somewhere of these events from the viewpoint of those other nations?

The Europeans migrating to what is now the USA claimed divine intervention. The Doctrine of Discovery was invoked by Pope Alexander VI in the Papal Bull “Inter Caetera” in 1493. It established a spiritual, political, and legal justification for colonization and seizure of land not inhabited by Christians. In the 18 hundreds, we called that principle Manifest Destiny.

How do people of faith in God move from an inclusive Supreme Being who created a world putting God’s likeness in each human being morph into a deity that supported exclusiveness identifying winners and losers among God’s own children?

I do not know the answers to these questions. I would love to have sat and discussed it with Jesus when he dwelt among us on earth. I do not recall any quotes attributed to him that even addressed land ownership. He talked about things like selling everything a person had to gain something more significant than earthly wealth. I do know that he loved us enough to take on all the evil in the world on a cross, gifted us with grace, and sent us forth to emulate his way of being, within the foundation of loving God and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Prayer: Thank your Lord for coming among us and modeling your way for us to follow. We are often tempted to project the world’s methods as your ways. Let your light shine in our darkness and help us to clearly see your path before us. 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.

Choices

Living in the Spirit

July 10, 2020

Scripture Reading: Romans 8:1-11

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. –Romans 8:1-8

Paul speaks of choice sustained and maintained by practice. Doing good grows more good. Evil acts beget more evil Paul simplifies choice by clusters. One is the cluster of the Spirit, the other the cluster of the flesh. We are more apt to think in terms of good and evil or right and wrong. Our example is Adam and Eve being removed from the Garden of Eden for disobeying God by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Another example is Jesus’s sojourn in the wilderness with Satan, where he is tempted by wealth, which provides food to eat, power, and testing God, and he withstood each temptation.

If we chose the Spirit, we are gifted with the grace of God and the guidance of the Spirit to help us be faithful to our choice. Jesus nor Paul discount the constant power of the flesh working to dissuade us from being steadfast in maintaining our Spirit choice.

The continuous practice part of choice is the challenge. During this pandemic, it is interesting to see how athletes have worked to stay in shape for when they return to play. One of the things I noticed is that some basketball players who were in the last half of their season first took the time to heal the various injuries that plague their bodies just through the routine of playing game after game. We, too, need to seek spiritual sabbaths to let our souls heal from the everyday press of serving God. Once healed, those athletes found ways to exercise and rebuild their bodies to return to competitive playing. Similarly, we practice spiritual disciplines to restore and sustain our souls.

The discipline of self-evaluation is crucial. We often do not realize when we slip into bad habits that disconnect us from God. For example, while we may not think we are contributing to the racial divide in our country, what are we doing to heal it? We may regularly donate to a food bank, and that is good, but what are we doing to end poverty? I routinely recycle, but I know very little about the general issues of climate change and what I can do further to address them.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gifts of the Spirit, help us to delve deeper in how we can practice our spiritual gifts toward your justice. 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.