Tag Archives: Justice

Tested

Eastertide

May 21, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. –1 Peter 4:12-14

While I do not think we are going through anything like what the first Disciples experienced, I do believe every generation is tested. We face the decision of how to be in the world but not of the world* every day. the multi-faceted side effects of the COVID 19 virus on the graduating classes of 2020 impact them far beyond direct health concerns. One graduating high school senior noted on the news that most in her class were born shortly after the 9-11 bombings which also reshaped their lives. Such challenges rise and fall through the generations. How we deal with them matters.

We seem caught in a great battle between the God of love and the gods of greed, power, and privilege. It started well before the virus began to spread across our lands. Climate change may have contributed to the increasing incidents of various viruses over several years. Not doing our duty as a country to provide for the Common Good is costing us far more than providing appropriate civil services to support our economy and protect our people all the time. We are suddenly realizing that all God’s children are important for our world to work well.

Perhaps the best thing to come out of these recent tests is that we work to follow God’s guidance and not chase after the temptations of the world. Perhaps those 2020 graduates will lead the way.

Prayer: God of love, we thank you for the leadership of those entering adulthood. Help us all work to assure the Common Good as we care for one another. Amen.

*See John 15:19, John 17:14-16, Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:22-24, and 1 Thessalonians 4:1

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.

Hypocrisy

Eastertide

May 19, 2020

Scripture Reading: Acts 1:1-11

So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’ –Acts 1:6-11

We are called to be Christ’s witnesses. This is done in many ways. Serving as a living example of the love of Christ is the best way by far. How we live and love one another from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth has a significant impact for better or for worse. It all starts with self-examination when we attempt to see our lives through the eyes of God—what Amos described as a plumb line and to see the Christ in each person.

I strongly think that I do not have the right ultimately to judge another. Jesus drew that assignment. I am concerned that wrong actions in the name of God are speaking louder than our pious word.

75% of polled American adults identifying themselves as Christian in 2015. This is down from 85% in 1990, lower than 81.6% in 2001, and slightly lower than 78% in 2012. About 62% of those polled claim to be members of a church congregation.*

I find it ironic that about 90%** of the populations of countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras identify as Christian. Many of these Central American refugees are the people we turn away at our southern border while not offering adequate help to their countries to overcome the oppression that causes them to leave their homes.

Prayer: God of Justice, forgive us for our hypocrisy in serving you well. Amen.

The Card printed above can be found at https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/examen-prayer-card/

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_the_United_States

**https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/04/08/christianity-is-growing-rapidly-in-el-salvador-along-with-gang-violence-and-murder-rates/

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.

Where has our Consciences Gone?

Eastertide

May 15, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Peter 3:13-22

For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight people, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. –1 Peter 3:18-22

I wonder if we still have consciences—the sense of knowing the difference between right and wrong. The Greek word, syneídēsis*, translated conscience in the above scripture has a deeper meaning than knowing the difference between right and wrong. It combines the moral and spiritual consciousness as part of being created in the divine image. Accordingly, all people have this God-given capacity to know right from wrong because each is a free moral agent (cf. Jn 1:4,7,9; Gen 1:26,27). In being created in the image of God, we are all equipped with the knowledge of righteousness and justice.  So, what separates our knowing from our actions—idol worship?

Many stories in the Hebrew Bible include warnings about idol worshiping from the Golden Calf at Mount Sinai to Elijah’s attack on the prophets of Baal. Some may think those were just the ways of ancient pagans bowing down to real statues. We would never do that. While idols have evolved over time within cultures, we remain dedicated to worshiping something upon which we can project our personal desires and call it our gods, such as wealth or privilege or power. 

Worshiping the gods of wealth, privilege, and power fosters greed, bigotry, and violence. People of faith face as great a challenge now as our ancestors in faith did in helping all people to understand that there is nothing worth having more than the Love of God and living in the light of that love, which is broad enough to include all of God’s children.

Prayer: God, who is love, forgive us for creating our own gods to the detriment of your other children. Guide us as we return to living in your light. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/4893.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.

Selfless-Righteousness

Eastertide

May 14, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Peter 3:13-22

Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defence to anyone who demands from you an account of the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. –1 Peter 3:13-17

The definition of the Greek word agathos1 translated here as “good” is “good.” It is recommended for use when trying to describe something that is: intrinsically good, good in nature, good whether it be seen to be so or not, the widest and most colorless of all words with this meaning. 1 Merriam-Webster wrote several pages trying to describe the word “good.”2

The word “right” used in the scripture above:1343 /dikaiosýnē (“divine approval”) is the regular NT term used for righteousness (“God’s judicial approval”). 1343 /dikaiosýnē (“the approval of God”) refers to what is deemed right by the Lord (after His examination), i.e. what is approved in His eyes.3

What happens when others do not deem what we are doing as either good or right in the eyes of God? Greed quickly closes people’s minds to what is good for anyone else but themselves. Greed results in injustice in the eyes of God. We are seeing a lot of that going on in our world today.

We are called to be people functioning under the example set by Jesus Christ. The popular phrase started a few years ago, “What would Jesus Do” has more significance than a wristband fad. According to the Pew Forum 70.6% of USA citizens identify as Christians. A number that is rapidly declining4. We, however, are houses divided not even able to recognize the validity of the varying tenets we follow.  Our discord is driving people from the faith.

if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. –2 Chronicles 7:14

Once we have sought God’s forgiveness and guidance, we need to find those issues on which we do agree and start the rebuilding now.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for our self-righteousness in our service to you and guide us in learning how to live like Jesus in selfless-righteousness. Amen.

1https://biblehub.com/str/greek/18.htm
2https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/good
3https://biblehub.com/str/greek/1343.htm
4https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/

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 Iniquities

Eastertide

May 13, 2020

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 66:8-20

Bless our God, O peoples,
   let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept us among the living,
   and has not let our feet slip.
For you, O God, have tested us;
   you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
   you laid burdens on our backs;
you let people ride over our heads;
   we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
   and I will tell what he has done for me.
I cried aloud to him,
   and he was extolled with my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
   the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
   he has given heed to the words of my prayer. –Psalm 66:8-12, 16-19

A headline in the paper caught my eye. The Supreme Court is hearing a case where two teachers from a faith-based school had filed claims of discrimination as one had been fired for turning 60 and was considered too old to teach. The other was fired because she was diagnosed with cancer. The school apparently is claiming that it did not have to obey federal laws related to age or disability discrimination because those laws did not apply to them based on the separation of church and state. My first response had nothing to do with what the Supreme Court decides. I wondered how they explained those decisions to God.

People of God are called throughout the Bible to do justice. I think it is time we who claim to be Christ-followers, dust off our Bibles, and reread Jesus’ guidance for the way we live as individuals as well as serving as the Body of Christ.

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. (Matthew 7:5)

I am a strong supporter of the separation of church and state. In a democracy where we the people are the foundation of our civil government, I also think our faith informs our personal stances on civil matters. Perhaps that is what is at the heart of the shambles in which our government functions. Maybe we are cherishing iniquity in our hearts and projecting them through our systems of governance.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for losing sight of your way of being and following the lesser gods of the world. Help us to renew our understanding 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.

Conduits of God’s Love

Eastertide

May 10, 2020

Scripture Reading: John 14:1-14

Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. –John 14:8-14

I vacillate between identifying with Jacob, renamed Israel, and Gideon from the Bible. Over time I wrestle in my head with God or God’s emissary usually in the night when I lose a lot of sleep. Jacob was a bit of a conman who had to wrestle with God before returning to his family. I do not fit in the conman classification. What to do when I identify injustices in the world is a challenge for me. I usually need my heart cleaned before I move to action.  Gideon, you might recall, is the man God called to lead Israel’s army in a battle. Described as a timid man, his first response seemed to be: “You want me to do what?” After testing God to make sure that Gideon had gotten the assignment right, he led the army and became one of the most respected Judges in Israel’s history. 

My sense of the scripture above is that the disciples are beginning to get the picture that Jesus is assigning them to move Jesus’ purpose forward. Some are wrestling with it. Others, including me, are saying, “You want us to do what?”

As our world deals with a nasty pandemic causing massive economic failure, people of faith are being called to be the conduit for the love of God to be the driving force in recovery. We will only do that successfully if we are working in sync with God.

Prayer: Lord, continue to clean the filters of my heart that clog my understanding of the righteous paths you desire for me and forgive me when you scare me. I know your phrase “Fear not” well, but I do not always remember it. 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 Gate Openers

Eastertide

May 2, 2020

Scripture Reading: John 10:1-10

‘Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.’ Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. –John 10:1-6

Jesus opened the gate so that all could come in. There is much talk in our world today about the integrity of globalism.  Watching the spread of the COVID 19 virus assures us that globalism is a necessity whether we like it or not. The impact of climate change has illustrated that reality for some time but perhaps not in severe enough terms to get our attention.  Followers of Christ have known it for 2000 years when we were instructed to go into all the world sharing the good news of Jesus Christ*.

There are no borders in the Kingdom of God. When I heard on the news that some want China to pay for our COVID 19 expenses, I wondered how quickly the USA would pick up the tab for other nations trying to recover from a pandemic outbreak that started here.

The greatest good that could result from this pandemic is that we take seriously our need to open the gate and recognize that we need to share God’s love for and with our neighbors near and far.

Prayer: God of all Creation, help us become gate openers toward welcoming all your children to your table. Amen.

*See Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:19 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.

Gleanings from COVID 19

Eastertide

May 1, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Peter 2:19-25

When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls. –1 Peter 2:23-25

We keep hearing calls to listen to the scientist and listen to the doctors, but when they are not saying what we want to hear we listen to the people who are speaking to our desires more than our common sense. Jesus spoke of love and community when power and greed spoke to fear and division. How do we change the fiber of our beings to turn around from the lesser gods in our world to see our wellbeing lies in the ways of love and community? What can we learn from the COVID 19 pandemic? How can we live the best of what we learn and not move back to the control of lesser gods?

  • Everyone needs to have enough of the ingredients of well being to sustain life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness*. This is not an insult to our economic system. It is a list of inalienable rights that are crucial for our economic system to thrive. No economy can be sustained when the rich get richer and more get poorer.
  •  Health care is a right not a privilege. The health well being of each if us is dependent on the health well being of all of us.
  • All workers deserve to be paid a living wage. I found it interesting that we propped up the economy by adding $600 per week to unemployment, giving some more income than they were making in full time jobs. We then got upset thinking these people may not want to return to work. Unemployment services are time limited and require recipients to return to work as soon as work is available or they lose their eligibility. It does illustrate the problem that many workers face who are not receiving a living wage. If higher incomes are good for the stock market in a pandemic; paying a living wage should also be good for the stock market all the time.
  • Faith communities need to recognize that the prosperity gospel is not good news.
  • People are fundamentally able to love one another and enjoy loving one another when unrestrained by the distractions of the world. We need to create and support more opportunities to love, wanting the absolute best for one another, without restraint.

Prayer: Lord, guide us through these troubled times and make us better prepared to love like you, once the pandemic is over. Amen.

*From the US Declaration of Independence

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.

Suffering Unjustly

Eastertide

April 30, 2020

Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 2:19-25

[Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh.] For it is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
‘He committed no sin,
   and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ –1 Peter 2:18-22

The lectionary scripture for today seemed to begin in the middle of the subject. Originally I though this scripture from first Peter was discussing the pain inflicted on the early disciples. Using an online source, I was not seeing the full context of the scripture, so I pulled up the previous page and discovered verse 18 which is not included in the scripture reading above, even though it was the first verse in a new segment clearly marked.

We 21st century Christians have a hard time dealing with the Biblical coverage of slavery. Do we just ignore it. That was then this is now. I do agree it is good advice to learn from the bad things that happen in life as well as the good. Recently I told someone that while my education included course work on management of staff, I learned more about good management of staff from the man who was my boss when I was a waitress in high school and college than I did in all my management courses. I then went on to say that I had also learned how not to supervise from some bad examples from other bosses.

The words we cannot ignore in this scripture are suffering unjustly. The pain of injustice is not limited to the sting of the whip or otherwise being misused or abused. Many African Americans in the USA in tracing their ancestry find their black ancestor’s white owner among their great grandfathers. The mental pain of mistreatment can and is passed from generation to generation. Some slave holders wanted their slaves to count in the apportionment of representation but not have the right to vote. The original USA Constitution included a provision that slaves were to be counted as three-fifths human.

We are all called to end suffering unjustly as a part of loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. We cannot rectify our past with our faith until we face it and work together to ameliorate it.

Prayer: Lord, grant us insight into the things that cause unjust suffering and help us identify and implement ways to end it and heal the wounds it causes. 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.

Ruled by Love

Eastertide

April 25, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Luke 24:13-35

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.’ Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. –Luke 24:13-27

Jesus lived in a dangerous world where faith leaders and government rulers were willing to sell their souls to retain their power, prestige, privilege, and wealth. Sound familiar? I thought I was beyond shock from our country’s leadership. This morning while listening to the news, I was shocked beyond words. The President Pro Temp of the US Senate proposed allowing states hardest hit by COVID 19 to file for bankruptcy rather than help them, and the President suggested that we investigate injecting people with a disinfectant that kills the virus on external surfaces. They have crossed over the line of being able to process reality when it thwarts their primary focuses of amassing wealth and power. They do not know how to function when dealing with something they cannot control.

In the above scripture, Jesus explains to his companions God’s plan from Moses through the prophets, including Jesus’s death on the cross. Jesus attempts to help us understand that in God’s world: all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose*.  When we start following God’s plan of interdependence ruled by loving God and loving one another, we will see the path to addressing the challenges we face.

Prayer: Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
forgive our foolish ways;
reclothe us in our rightful mind,
in purer lives thy service find,
in deeper reverence, praise**. Amen.

*Romans 8:28
**First verse of Dear Lord and Father of Mankind by John Greenleaf Whittier. See at https://hymnary.org/text/dear_lord_and_father_of_mankind

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.