Tag Archives: Justice

Seeds of Love

Kingdom of God

July 1, 2019

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-14

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favour with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. And the king of Aram said, ‘Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.’ –2 Kings 5:1-5

I am impressed. A slave, a child, a kidnapped child recognizing her owner’s problem and suggested that the prophet who is in Samaria could cure him of leprosy and he should go see him. Many, perhaps even most of the children we are holding at the border, in cramped unsanitary conditions are Christians. My prayer is that they, too, have the faith this young slave girl had so they can see past that which is harmful to them and let God be the source of their self-worth as God was for this young girl.

We, too, need to remember who we serve and let the love God flow through us so that we can work for justice whenever we are entangle in injustice whether willingly or by our silence. We live in a country that claims to be of the people by the people for the people. Our government should reflect our values. When we do not see that happening, we have a responsibility to work to bring our governmental outcomes in sync with those values. And, yes, that is hard because we are a diverse population representing many religions and those with no religion at all. Jesus Christ called us to be one and we cannot even do that within the population that claims him as their Savior.

We must lean into the guidance of the Holy Spirit and prayerfully consider if our values are in sync with God’s. That will prepare us to open avenue of dialogue with all God’s children and that means everyone to search for Common Ground for the Common Good. Even the smallest action of oneness can be the seed that can spread the love of God throughout the earth.

Prayer: Lord, we are lost in a desert of desolation and do not see those seeds we need to plant. Help us find those seeds of love and plant them and nourish them into full fruition. 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.

Commonsense

Kingdom Building

June 26, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20

When the waters saw you, O God,
   when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
   the very deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
   the skies thundered;
   your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
   your lightnings lit up the world;
   the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
  your path, through the mighty waters;
   yet your footprints were unseen.
You led your people like a flock
   by the hand of Moses and Aaron. –Psalm 77:16-20

The weird weather we are experiencing raises questions about why. We humans are not comfortable with facing the consequences of our actions, so we are quick to say strange weather is just an oddity this year. Of course, we have been saying that for a while now despite information to the contrary:

The warming trend over the last 50 years (about 0.13° C or 0.23° F per decade) is nearly twice that for the last 100 years*.

I do trust that it rains on the just and the unjust. (See Matthew 5:45). It does, however, not make sense to me that people who do not believe humans contribute to global warming think we should not do everything in our power to reduce it when it is measurably occurring.

So, when I read the above scripture for today, it did make me wonder if God is trying to once again save us from ourselves by sending weird weather to open our minds to caring for the earth God graciously gave us as a home.

Prayer: Lord, open not only our minds but our hearts to the commonsense actions we can take to care for the Earth you provide for us. Ame.

*https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/upsDownsGlobalWarming.html

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.

Persistence

Kingdom Building

June 24, 2019

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-2,6-14

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel.

Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground. –2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-8

When I first began working on justice issues that required not only faith-based action but also civic action, I was told by a mentor that it takes ten years of work to introduce a new concept into law or change practices well ingrained in the culture. Medicaid and Medicare were implemented July 30, 1965. I had just graduated from high school. By the late 1970’s attempts were being made to improve the services of these programs and fifty years later we still strive for adequate, affordable, accessible health care for all*.

Elisha’s story is the story of persistence. While it is always good to have the best and brightest input on how to do things well, most justice issues are accomplished through persistence and hard work. Jesus highlighted this fact in the telling of the parable of the persistent widow found in Luke 18:1-8.

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” ’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’

This scripture ends with a good question, when the Son of Man comes will he find faith on earth or will he find that we did not persist in our quest for justice and let the principalities of the world take control?

Prayer: Lord, grant us the persistence of Elisha and the widow who longed for justice. Amen.

*The last measured percent without health insurance for Oklahoma was 21.70% in 2014. Oklahoma experienced an average growth rate of -2.31% from our first statistic recorded in 2008. If past trends continue, we forecast the percent without health insurance to be 18.78% by 2019. See more information at https://www.opendatanetwork.com/entity/0400000US40/Oklahoma/health.health_insurance.pctui?year=2014&age=18%20to%2064&race=All%20races&sex=Both%20sexes&income=All%20income%20levels

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.

Drowning Pigs

Kingdom Building

June 22, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 8:26-39

Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me’— for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion’; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.

Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. –Luke 8:26-33

I guess one never loses one’s heritage. Having been raised on a farm, I cannot read this scripture without wondering why Jesus so easily allowed demons to destroy someone’s livelihood. I know that even being in the presence of swine was most likely unpleasant for Jews who were forbidden to eat pork. Thus, the drowning of an entire herd was most likely not a negative thing to the Jews that were present. In recent weeks herds of swine were drowned in the floods that occurred in our nation’s breadbasket. Here in Oklahoma crops were destroyed before harvest and new crops could not be planted in a timely manner because of the rains we are experiencing. An economic price will be paid for such loss.

What do we do with evil when it can be identified? Is it better for evil to be destroyed rather than allowing it to lurk in the background to find another outlet for its mischief? What is the cost to all of us when we allow evil to rule over some of us? And finally, are we indeed our brother’s keeper? Why did it take someone from another country to help the man who For a long time had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs?

We face the consequences of our own actions whether it not caring for the mentally ill and homeless or ignoring climate change or discrimination. Perhaps Jesus is reminding us that God created us with the ability to do justice and show mercy and while he was willing to demonstrate again how that can happen, he wanted to remind us that doing justice and showing mercy should be ingrained in everything we do.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we bury our heads in the sand and do not see the need for justice and mercy. 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.

Law and Faith

Kingdom Building

June 20, 2019

Scripture Reading: Galatians 3:23-29

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. –Galatians 3:23-27

There is a difference between discipline and punishment. Discipline is designed to help people integrate life lessons, hopefully learning positive ways of functioning; punishment shames or frightens children or adults into behaving in the way another wants them to behave. Discipline applied well helps people internalize proven processes. While all discipline may not be wise and may not be as helpful for some people as for others, it can be modified based on individual circumstances. Once punishment is rendered it is hard to undo.

Galatians above describes the law as our disciplinarian until Christ came so we might be justified by faith. We are children of God called to attain Christ like maturity.

The Hebrew Bible contains essentially three types of “laws” that discipline us: God’s commandments, civic law, and etiquette rules. Living in a country founded on the separation of church and state our civic laws stand apart from our faith commandments. Since we are a country founded on government of the people, by the people, for the people our faith values as may the values, influenced by faith or not, of others guide our civic laws. Emily Post and Miss Manners are drivers of etiquette. God’s Commandments are eternal in nature while civic laws are altered as our world changes from messages etched on stone to the digital environment. Etiquette is most often driven by culture.

The advent of Christ did not replace eternal laws but added the component of grace through faith. The commandments still provide guidance for daily living while we work to love God and our neighbors in forming a world ultimately ruled by love.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the gift of grace that enables us to partner with you in developing your kingdom. Guide us in the use of your eternal commandments as they help to discipline us in practicing our faith. 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.

Taking Responsibility

Kingdom Building

June 16, 2019

Scripture Reading: John 16:12-15

‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

We do continue to have prophets who speak for justice and righteousness. Rev. Dr. William Barber* was on trial in North Carolina recently for leading a protest two years ago calling for Medicaid expansion in the state’s legislative building. He is charged with trespassing. I did not know one could be charged with trespassing on publicly owned property. He is non-violent so I do not think he was a danger to anyone. He does make people uncomfortable because he has no problem speaking truth to power.

“Prophets believe that what they proclaim on any day can be transformed into real action.”

― William J. Barber II, Forward Together: A Moral Message for the Nation

Prophets do not normally predict the future; they predict outcomes of behavior patterns that if continued will led to success or ruin. They predict things over which we have control. I really do not know if climate students predicted the Dust Bowl. I do know that farmers across Oklahoma adopted a pattern of plowing the ground in straight rows with no natural barriers to hold back blowing earth.  When the winds came the topsoil was removed from the earth and the ground became a wasteland for crops. Those farmers were encouraged to follow this way of plowing to increase their yield by people more interested in immediate financial gain than the stability of farming for the future. There were some who did not follow this pattern. There also were some who warned against it. If you drive through Oklahoma in the spring now you will see lines of trees planted at the edge of fields to serve as barriers to blown away soil and you will see different forms of plowing.

I wonder how much of this weird weather we are experiencing is the result of our not dealing with climate change. I wonder if these “natural disasters” are truly acts of God or the result of our inaction in taking responsibility for the earth.

Greed is the Baal of the 21st Century. It is epidemic in our land and it will bring us to ruination, if we do not turn away from it.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for worshiping wealth. Lead us to springs of living water where our work as well as all other aspects of our lives is ruled by love. Amen.

*You can learn more about Reverend Barbers work at https://www.breachrepairers.org/

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.

Hope

Kingdom Building

June 14, 2019

Scripture Reading: Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

I am intrigued by the fact that I seem to be oblivious to some long-term pain from arthritis much of the time but if I stub my toe or get a minor burn, I stop everything I am doing and pay attention only to the pain. Suffering does indeed produce endurance. Endurance does help define our character, but I think we chose whether our character is defined for better or worse. The decision we make regarding our character drives the type of hope in which we live. The key to whether we turn suffering into productive living is deeply entrenched in our relationship with God and is fulfilled in the gift of the Spirit. Bitterness is a character trait. Desiring that someone get what they deserve is a hope. Allowing the Spirit to drive our development produces character that withstands anything that gets in the way of God’s love and feeds hope for a world ruled by love.

Bitterness is a driver in our society today. For many people, too many people, their lives are not reflecting their hope, or they have lost all hope. I once heard someone say that the difference in being poor and being in poverty is those in poverty have lost all hope. In the USA 13.4% of the population live in poverty. In Oklahoma the percentage is 15.8% or 1 out of 6 people*.

Jesus knew what he was doing when he commanded us to feed and clothe the poor. He knew that living in survival mode eats up every moment of every day leaving no room for hope.

Prayer: Lord, help us be a source of hope for the impoverish as we work to change the systems that imprison them in hopelessness. Amen.

*https://okpolicy.org/new-census-data-shows-that-oklahoma-fell-further-behind-the-u-s-on-poverty-and-uninsured-rate-for-second-consecutive-year/

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.

Making Dreams Reality

Eastertide

June 7, 2019

Scripture Reading: Acts 2:1-21

No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
   and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
   and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
   in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
     and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
   and signs on the earth below,
     blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
   and the moon to blood,
     before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” –Acts 2:16-21

I wonder if anyone has done a comparison of how often the prophets wrote about the end time involving war and destruction and how often they foresaw the outpouring of the spirit in new visions and new dreams? There is no question that evil is strong and resistant to anything that might stifle its lust for control of our lives. The prophets tell us that God is stronger than the strongest evil and we must trust that love overcomes all evil if we are working as God’s conduits toward creating the Kingdom God planted in the hearts and minds of those prophets.

Perhaps our task is not to kill evil but to heal it. What makes good people turn bad? I have read that what children learn the first three years of their lives is the strongest influence on the type of adult they will become. What are we doing to assure that children are getting the very best care in those early years? If people are not valued for whom they are, they often do not value themselves. Who is telling them they are children of God and have a unique roll that only they can fulfill in God’s kingdom? How many of those children being harbored in cages at the southern border have the potential to discover the cure for diseases or write wonderful novels or take technology to the next level? Who among them living in fear in an atmosphere of hate and discrimination will break through those walls to fulfill that potential?

Prayer: God of Justice write on our hearts the ancient lessons of the prophets to dream dreams and work to make the reality. 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.

Tenders of the Earth

Eastertide

June 5, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 104:24-35

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
   In wisdom you have made them all;
  the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
   creeping things innumerable are there,
   living things both small and great.
There go the ships,
   and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

These all look to you
   to give them their food in due season;
when you give to them, they gather it up;
   when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
   when you take away their breath, they die
   and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
   and you renew the face of the ground. –Psalm 104:24-30

The cycle of life applies to all things. The spirit is breath at the command of God as it comes and goes among all living creatures. It is fun to read the first segment of the Psalm above and imagine fish and porpoises and seals playing in the ocean. The earth God created contains sustenance enough for all with one caveat, we are charged with having dominion over all the animals that dwell on the earth.

Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’ (Genesis 1:26)

Having dominion or rule over the animals of the earth means we are responsible for them. We can choose to destroy them or save them. We can hoard them for our own use or assure that all God’s children have access to their bounty. Such an arrangement also means that we must live with the outcomes of our choices. 

Something as simple as bees are not as simple as they may seem. It is my understanding that chemicals we use are markedly reducing the number of bees available to pollinate the development and growth of plants. We are putting our food supply at risk because we have not cared for bees.

When greed and its resulting recklessness drives our care of all God’s creatures, all God’s creation, including humans, suffer the consequences.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in being responsible tenders of the earth and all that is on and in 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.

Oneness in Love

Eastertide

June 1, 2019

Scripture Reading: John 17:20-26

‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. —John 17:20-24

The family of God includes all people and their abode is the entire universe particularly the earth on which we live. One thing I am learning as I delve into my genealogy is that we are all at least cousins. As I get further and further back into my history, I find it difficult to remember how the person I am trying to understand is connected to me. I do not know how many times I have had to track back down my online family tree to find the relative closest to me to know how a persons 13 generations up on my tree relates to me. DNA testing has helped me identify which of the billions of Phillips there are who were my mother’s ancestors. That was further complicated by someone deciding along the line to drop one of the “l’s” from the name.

It also makes me wonder how we became so divided. Of course, we do not have to read too far into the Bible to track the beginning of division between brother’s no less, Cain and Abel* or to see how many second changes and guidance for living God gave us to live as one. That includes God’s son whose words of oneness are the scripture above.

We live in a time of divide and conquer politics. I think the most appropriate reaction to such attempts is to drown out these clanging gongs** with voices of love.

Prayer: Lord, make us whole, make us one, make us just. Amen.

*See Genesis 4
**See 1 Corinthians 13

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.