Tag Archives: Love

I Will Do a New Thing

landopeningmap
April 22, 2016

Scripture Reading: Revelation 21:1-6

And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. –Revelation 21:4-6

When I see the date April 22, I think of 89er’s day. If you are not from Oklahoma, you most likely have never heard of it. What is now the state of Oklahoma was once parceled out to be the depository of American Indians whose existence was in the way of our pilgrim’s progress toward Manifest Destiny. In all honesty the land where Oklahoma now exits was not even a select place for the plains Indians who already lived nearby. They occasionally wander in for a hunt now and then but few every really designated it as their homing place. The very center of the state was never allotted to any tribe and went by the name unassigned land. On April 22, 1889 this undesignated land was opened for settlement by non-Indians through a land run. It was marked off in plots of 160 acres each. The first person to get to the stake and turned it in got the land. It was theirs for the keeping if they lived on it and developed it for five years. Thousands ran in the run including Europeans who came to the United States to escape a potato famine, the children of homesteaders in neighboring Kansas, and freed slaves among others.

The 89er’s day celebration is held in Guthrie each year an includes a big parade, carnival, and rodeo. It celebrates the endurance and fortitude of those pioneers most of which were marking a new beginning not unlike the Israelites streaming into the wilderness out of Egypt.

Our lives are full of tragedy and resilience, of winners and losers, and of creating something out of what appears to be nothing. Isaiah 43:19 says, I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. I will never believe that the God of love every intended for any peoples to succeed at the expense of any other peoples. I will always believe that God wants the best for all God’s creation. God expects us to live into that reality, but praise God for being a God of new beginnings when we have another opportunity to live our love.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when our quest for better lives leads us to lose sight of the better lives of all. Help us realize your new thing 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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Standing Up to False Truth

politifact-photos-Meter_close2Lent
March 13, 2016

Scripture Reading: John 12:1-8

But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’ –John 12:4-8

Greed is a pandemic in our land. Judas was certainly not the first and, alas, not the last. It eats at us like little gremlins running around in our heads sending us messages that are false. It is very hard to ignore them. Truth has become whatever it is we hear reported over and over. It has little connection to actual facts but it does support our greed and lust for power. I find it interesting that fact checking has become a needed industry in our world today. Yet we readily ignore the facts they check. It forces us to be cynical, not believing much what we hear.

The sad thing is that just planting the seed of doubt in our minds may be all that is needed to shake our trust. I lived with the widely held belief that government employees are lazy and incompetent for many years while working with some of the most dedicated hardworking even sacrificial people I have ever met. Saying government is inefficient and ineffective is a means to justify “contracting” with the always smart and hardworking private sector. The “private sector” often hired those incompetent state employees and paid them more once the private company was awarded a contract because they could not do the work without the knowledge base the state employee had. Those companies also walked away from their “project” after fulfilling the letter, if not the spirit, of the contract leaving those horrid government employees to clean up the mess. I see this same distortion of fact happening in public education now.

So what does that have to do with Mary’s anointing Jesus’ feet? The fact check Mary did that drove her to this act was the one that said Jesus had confronted the seekers of greed and power using violence when necessary to get what they wanted, and his death became inevitable. Jesus got the last word though. His message of love has stood to challenge the forces of greed and power for over 2000 years.

Prayer: Lord, undergird us with your spirit of love so that we, too, can withstand the forces of evil that infect our world. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Help us Accept Each Other

ZikaLent
February 20, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 9:28-43

On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, ‘Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It throws him into convulsions until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.’ Jesus answered, ‘You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.’ While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.

 There are many stories of Jesus’ healing people. Children, like the boy described here, may have been outcast in their communities because many believed that such illness, or all illness for that matter, were caused by evil spirits that had taken over the person. This child apparently had epilepsy, which probably is still fraught with society’s judgment even though we now have a clearer picture of causes and much better treatments.

Currently we are seeing an increase in babies born with microcephaly, a birth defect that results in a small head as its main identifier but includes other challenges. Its cause has been traced to a mosquito bite carrying a virus the mother experienced during pregnancy. She may never have had any symptoms. Yet the children will live with the stigma of a small head forever.

Jesus loved them all no questions asked. He is a tough model to emulate unless we can let go of all those fears and prejudgments that cause us to identify people as something lesser than we are. All of us suffer from some traits deemed to be imperfection by someone. Jesus calls us to see each persons as a child of God made perfect by God’s love that is our goal for life also.

Help us accept each other As Christ accepted us;
Teach us as sister, brother, Each person to embrace.
Be present, Lord, among us And bring us to believe
We are ourselves accepted And meant to love and live.*

Prayer: God erase the fears and prejudices from our hearts and minds that cause us to be unwelcoming to anyone. Let your love for all be ours in our times of weakness. Amen.

First verse of hymn Help Us Accept Each Other words by Fred Kaan see at http://www.hymnary.org/text/help_us_accept_each_other

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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

God is Love

Lent
February 11, 2016

Scripture Reading: RomaLiveLoveALns 10:8b-13

because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ –Romans 9-13

The basic tenet of faith stated in today’s scripture was taught to me as a child. It is the doctrine, if you will, of the faith system in which I was raised. I actually believe it even today as an adult surrounded by so many people pushing for differing tests of Christianity including some in my own faith system. It basically says that Jesus Christ is the only one who truly knows who believes in him.

I also believe there is only one God whose name was not uttered by the Hebrews out of respect and is known by many names today. I have no problem with God having many names as there is only one word that can capture the whole essence of God: Love. It is not a name at all but an action.

While I enjoy a good theological discussion as much as anyone and truly enjoy studying the Bible and other writings about God, the true reflection of Jesus Christ is in how we live our lives through our love. We live in a complex world and, I think, we like to keep it complex so we can throw up our hands and say, “I give up” rather than simply loving one another, wanting the very best for another, and letting Jesus judge what that very best is.

Prayer: Lord, help us be lovers of one another not judges. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Enabled Love

Love is not proudEpiphany
January 28, 2016

Scripture Reading: I Corinthians 13:1-13

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things –I Corinthians 13:1-7

There have been a lot of noisy gongs sounding recently, and clanging cymbals, but I have not noted them being sounded in the name of love. When a people, called to love, places what they believe above their love for others, what they believe becomes idolatry. That is a hard concept for all of us.

I hear some say we should love the sinner but not the sin. An impossible task, I think. The old hymn states it well: God welcomes us just as we are. If there is any changes need, that is between the person and God. We cannot hate the sin in another, if we also practice Jesus’ instruction not to judge. We are called to love and, I think, God uses our love mixed with a whole lot more of God’s love to work through anything that might be separating me or others from God. We really are not even capable of seeing our own sins much less anyone else’s.

Thus God gives us the gifts of patience, kindness, humility, unselfishness, and peaceful countenance.

Prayer: Grant me the full measure of your love and let it pour forth through me to all I meet along the way. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

The Power of Christ

we-are-one-body-in-christ-3-728Christmas
January 2, 2016

 Scripture Reading: John 1:(1-9), 10-18

[The Word] was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. –John 1:10-13

John was written with the feel of hindsight. I don’t really know when I learned that the book of John was probably not written until the last decade of the first century, but John has always seemed a retrospective to me. Indeed, the other gospels included in the canonical Bible were all written several years after the events they discuss. I also read a somewhat speculative commentary some years ago that suggested the gospel of John might have been written by the John Mark who wrote the earliest gospel. Now that is an interesting set of bookends. While these two gospels appear to have different sources, the idea does recognize how differently we may experience the world when we are younger and when we are older. The Jesus of John has been transformed into the abstract Christ, the logos. Yet in some of the stories he seems more human, nearer than the teacher of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. As one who perceives that all people are children of God, what is this power that we require to fulfill such a legacy? My Sunday school class has an ongoing dialogue regarding what the scripture I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) means. It is a hard saying. Whose definition of the way, and the truth and the life is to be applied? The meaning interpretations differ greatly among Christ’s proclaimed followers. Is the Judeo-Christian representation of the One we call Messiah or Christ, this being’s only manifestation? What was meant when Jesus said: I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd (John 10:16)? Was he opening the doors to bring in the gentiles or was he saying he is active and engaged in other religions? Is it single-natured or diverse? Is that heresy or is that omnipotence at work?

While I think such discussion is vital to our authenticity in Christ, I also accept that Christ is shaping us as we move and have our being and that is the power we need to humbly recognize and welcome fully into our lives as we love our way closer to God.

Prayer: Lord, continue your work of nurturing us in wholeness so that we may through the power of your spirit become one in you whether in our diversity or our sameness. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Praising God

WeatherChristmas
December 30, 2015

 Scripture Reading: Psalm 147:12-20

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
   Praise your God, O Zion!
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
   he blesses your children within you.
He grants peace within your borders;
   he fills you with the finest of wheat.
He sends out his command to the earth;
   his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
   he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down hail like crumbs—
   who can stand before his cold? –Psalm 147:12-17

As I sat down to write this morning, I truly was not ready for a Psalm that praises God because of God’s control of the weather. Oklahoma was besieged by the weather over the past several days, which is now moving toward the east coast including blizzards and floods, tornados and black ice. I awoke this morning at 5:28 am being rocked in my bed by a 4.3 earthquake whose epicenter was ten or so miles north of me. Felt the 3.5 aftershock too. While some believe we are being punished for what they construe as our sinful behaviors, others believe that we are suffering from our own failed care of the earth causing global warming and greed-driven wastewater disposal processes that cause earthquakes.

In both cases our priorities are off point. We are called to live a life driven by love and such a way of being demands moral imperatives of respect for ourselves and others in all aspects of life. We have never, however, been given the assignment of assessing ultimate judgment on ourselves or others and certainly not making our judgments litmus tests for our love. I do not think it is possible to love the person and hate what we perceived to be their sin. We must work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in [us], enabling [us] both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12b-13) And we must allow others the same opportunity while loving them completely just as they are and trusting that God will use our love in God’s work with both us and them.

And in like manner the need to establish blame never solves a problem and may impede identifying causes. Global warming and earthquakes are now realities. If identifying causes and implementing changes in our behaviors are necessary toward our meeting God’s charge to care for the earth, we need to do so with all due haste. It will require all of us to repent from the lifestyles to which we have become accustomed and to learn new, more responsible ways to live our praise to the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, order our lives so that our acts of love and care of the earth may being pure praise to you. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Redemption

Christs-redemptionChristmas
December 28, 2015

 Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-14

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
   and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
   and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.’
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
   and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. –Jeremiah 31:10-11

Now what? We, too once again with the advent of Christmas, have been amply reminded who we are, by whose we are. God came and dwelt among us, experience humanness first hand, shared in joy and in sorrow, and remained steadfast in a vision of justice and mercy for all. And we, who have chosen to follow this One who was human and dwelt among us, have been called to make such a vision real.

Redemption does not count, if we fail to claim its prize, but we must understand what that prize is. I routinely shop at a chain drugstore that offers good service and reasonable prices. I even accepted a card that makes me eligible for special discounts and I faithfully let them scan it with each purchase. I am often given literally what seems to be yards of these discounts in my payment receipts each time I check out. I almost never use them. They are often for things I do not use or need, and frankly it is just too much trouble to clip them and remember to use them at the appropriate time. As far as I am concerned the issuance of these coupons is a waste of both of our time and money. I would prefer that they just lower the price on the goods I am buying.

We were not given redemption by God to waste it. God saved us for a purpose: God’s purpose. I believe the heart of that purpose is to establish a world where justice and love rule. God’s redemption is not enticements to keep us in the fold. Accepting God’s redemption is our call to introduce the world to God’s love.

Prayer: Lord, help us to love each other as you love 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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Called to Be One

One in ChristjpgAdvent
December 23, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 148

Kings of the earth and all peoples,
   princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
   old and young together!  

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
   for his name alone is exalted;
   his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
  praise for all his faithful,
   for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord! –Psalm 148:11-14

Jesus called us to be one (John 17:21) when he walked on earth but that was not the first call. The ancients understood God’s desire that we all be one as is illustrated in Psalm 148. Yet today even those who claim to be the Body of Christ in the world are broken, separated by dogma and beliefs, arguments about who is right or wrong, as if what we believe about God is God. Our ancestors believed the world was flat until they discovered it was not.

God created us to be sentient beings capable of reasoning and discussing. No one enjoys a deep discussion of meaning more than I do, but the fear of God is truly only the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). We think we know a lot about health care and, indeed, we know a whole lot more now than was knew even fifty years ago. Yet we have only begun to mine the depth and breadth of health care much less the knowledge of God.

The one truth that seems to have stood the test of time is that God in love calls us to be one and when we act as one we have a much better understanding of the what and the who of God who is love and is the very source of love.

Prayer:
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
   praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
   praise him, all his host!  

Praise him, sun and moon;
   praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
   and you waters above the heavens!  

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
   for he commanded and they were created.
He established them for ever and ever;
   he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed. Amen. Psalm 148:1-6

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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

God’s Preferred-Will

delight-yourself-in-the-lord-and-he-will-give-you-the-desires-of-your-heart-300x300Advent
December 17, 2015

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10

And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. –Hebrews 10:10

The will of people as part of the human makeup is much discussed by psychologist as well as theologians. Can we control it or can we not? The will wants what the will wants. And how does God’s will intersect with human will?

Merriam-Webster defines will* as: desire, wish; especially: a desire to act in a particular way:
a: disposition, inclination, liking
b: fleshy or carnal desire: appetite, passion
c: choice, determination, intention

The Greek word translated as “will” in the above scripture, is theléma and most often refers to God’s “preferred-will.”**

Apparently it is God’s preferred-will that God’s people be made pure or holy (I like the word whole) through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I think in most instances being made pure, being made holy, being made whole is a process of interplay between we humans and God as we grow through the love of Christ Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is a process that shapes and molds our desires to become what is best for us and what is best for each of us is God’s preferred-will.

As we ponder what we desire the most during this advent season, let us each seek to get in touch with God’s preferred-will for us. We just might find our heart’s desire.

Prayer: Lord, help us find your preferred-will for us this Advent season as we await your coming again. As your will and our wills become one for each of us and among all of us, let us become conduits of your love. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/will

**http://biblehub.com/greek/2307.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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.