Tag Archives: Love

Changing Culture

Identity Crisis bannerAdvent
December 16, 2015

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
   but a body you have prepared for me;
in burnt-offerings and sin-offerings
   you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, “See, God, I have come to do your will, O God”
   (in the scroll of the book it is written of me).’ –Hebrews 10:5-7

Since their beginning people have sensed the presence of the supernatural. It started as a need to appease nature in the hope that nature would be kind. It continued as a need to establish order in society identifying acceptable and unacceptable behaviors and somehow tying the rightness and wrongness of actions to a relatedness with the supernatural. It grew into the age dubbed modernity and peoples’ having skills at self-determination and knowledge sometimes thought to be beyond the need for the supernatural. Now we struggle with what we call postmodernity and the how’s and if’s of the supernatural.

Our scripture today outlines one such shift in thinking about the supernatural that we who follow Jesus Christ have acknowledged. It is the transition from the need to offer burnt offerings to appease the Gods to the coming of a Savior who established a different way to relate to God fully acknowledging the overriding importance of love in relationship to God and in relationship with other people. While we acknowledge it, we struggle to live it. If we learn to live it, I think we would find that we have been called as co-participants in Christ’s service of love. Actually God’s people were trying to figure out how to love one another thousands of years ago when burnt offerings were common. Called to do the uncommon act of love seems to demand an interdependence with God even in times like these.

Prayer: God, as civilization changes, we your people have a greater and greater need for your presence in our lives. You are indeed the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5) nurture us in your love and prepare us for our role in furtherance of your Kingdom in the midst of postmodernity. 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.

Living Love

heart-of-loveAdvent
December 4, 2015

Scripture Reading: Philippians 1:3-11

And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that on the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. –Philippians 1:9-11

I was very impressed with the way the San Bernardino police handled the mass killing that occurred there on December 2. It was senseless and it was horrific, but the police were calm and collected, very professional, tried to keep people informed and were very honest about not knowing all the answers. I learned to respect law enforcement many years ago when I was a child welfare worker and supervisor. We the public needed their calm and we got it.

We are all called to do our part in ending the senseless destruction of human life that has become so routine in America today. I read recently where a man shot his waitress when she pointed out to him that the restaurant was a non-smoking facility. And who can fathom what is going on in the mind of a person who kills reportedly to protect the sanctity of life. Whether the shooters in San Bernardino were terrorist or just mad about the way they had been treated at work, they have now planted a seed of doubt in the minds of every co-worker of every persons of middle eastern heritage. Score one for evil. Violence just begets more violence, even though the Romans of old championed peace through victory it never worked for long. The only thing that came overcome such evil is love.

Yes, we do need to pray for the victims and their families and the police and support and comfort them all, but more than anything else, we need to live our love fashioned after the love modeled by Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord, help us be your conduits of love and not the transmitters of fear. 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 Peace of God

peace through loveLiving in the Spirit
November 22, 2015

Scripture Reading: John 18:33-37

Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’—John 18:37

Biblical historian, John Dominic Crossan in his work The Challenge of Jesus* describes the siege of Israel the Romans accomplished when a Jewish uprising occurred at the death of Herod shortly before Jesus was born. The Romans quickly used overkill, literally to remind the Israelites who was in control. The town of Sepphoris, located a short distance from Nazareth, was destroyed and many of its inhabitants killed. Jesus grew up in the shadow of this devastation, which no doubt left a lasting impression on him and his parents.

We experienced the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing and its impact, still are probably. Add 9/11 to that and we have the makings of dis-ease among the people. Crossan strongly suggests that the young Jesus took all this in and understood the Roman idea of peace via violence, known as the Pax or Peace of Roman, was a false façade. The only way to peace was through love. He lived it up to and through the cross and displayed its truth through his resurrection.

We are seeing, maybe even experiencing, some of the dis-ease that results for senseless violence in our world today. It seems its purveyors, like the Romans, take some satisfaction from it. They most likely have suffered some loss, humiliation, shame themselves and are targeting others in an impossible attempt to rectify through violence whatever they have experienced. It will eventually work no better for them than it did for the Romans. It will not work for us either.

Prayer: Lord, in these difficult times teach us how to love our way toward peace. Guide our leaders as they must make the difficult choices regarding how to protect the populace while bringing the terror to an end. Amen.

*http://faithandreason.org/index.php/store/product/the-challenge-of-jesus

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.

Nurturing Love

nurture-465x310Living in the Spirit
November 20, 2015

Scripture Reading: Revelation 1:4b-8

Look! He is coming with the clouds;
   every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
   and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.
So it is to be. Amen.  

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. –Revelation 1:7-8

God is the god of all from the beginning of time, through now, and forevermore. God is the god of even those who pierced him. The Lord loved them too and in all honesty that includes you and me. While we did not stand at the foot of a cross and jab a spear into Jesus’ side, we pierce him every with small prickly jabs resulting from defining who we are to love by our perceptions of who they are and what they do.

If the definition of sin is being separated from God, then being present to God in all aspects of our lives must be our primary goal. When we are present and open to God’s compassion, we will begin to reflect it back onto everyone we encounter. No one said it was easy to let go of our prejudices. It is harder even still to let go of real hurt and real pain inflicted by others in our lives, but our salvation is in God and by God’s grace through Jesus Christ, we can release all that holds us back from fulfilling our mission as part of the Body of Christ on this earth at this time.

For his anger is but for a moment;
   his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
   but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:5)

Prayer: God of Grace, touch the hearts of all your people with your compassion so that we me be joined together as one in our love. Let your love stream down like rain on a parched desert filling the encrusted crevices of hate and destruction, anger and fear, recreating us into fertile soil nurturing your love to grow so strong that it crowds out the weeds of evil. 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.

Fear of God

justiceLiving in the Spirit
November 16, 2015

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 23:1-7

The spirit of the Lord speaks through me,
   his word is upon my tongue.
The God of Israel has spoken,
   the Rock of Israel has said to me:
One who rules over people justly,
   ruling in the fear of God,
is like the light of morning,
   like the sun rising on a cloudless morning,
   gleaming from the rain on the grassy land. –2 Samuel 23:2-4

What is the fear of God? Do we act in the world as we do out of a desire for a positive outcome for ourselves in eternity? I somehow don’t think the people of today think too much about standing before God in judgment. We may not be too different from our ancestors. They may have been just as dedicated to the moment as we are letting tomorrow take care of itself. We are after all taught to pray give us this day our daily bread*.

The word “reverence” is a synonym often used to talk about the fear associated with God. Merriam Webster defines it as profound respect mingled with love and awe**. Thus to treat others justly in the fear of God means to treat them with respect out of our love for God. If we find it hard to love the others, letting our love of God discern how we treat them will result in our growing in love for them. I do not know if I will ever actually stand before God in a final judgment, but if I do the judgment will be based on how well I loved God and loved others throughout my life. I rather think of judgment as tiny bits of conscience stirring my being with each person whose path I cross when I fail to love them. If I am in synch with God, I will know about my failures to love at the time they occur. The fear of God is in the now and guides us in our living.

Our world is torn apart from the fear of terrorist. We sense them to be everyone and begin to not trust anyone. Governance that rules in the fear of God thus functioning with respect mingled with love is the only salvation from our current situation.

Prayer: Lord you came to us some 2000 years ago with a simple message but life makes it so very hard to accept and live. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage***, for the facing of this hour. Amen.

*Phrase from the Lord’s Prayer Matthew 6:11
**http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/reverence
***Phrase from the hymn God of Grace and God of Glory by Harry E. Fosdick see at http://www.hymnary.org/text/god_of_grace_and_god_of_glory

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.

Love has Everything to do with It

Domestic-ViolenceLiving in the Spirit
August 24, 2015

Scripture Reading: Song of Solomon 2:8-13

8 The voice of my beloved! Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look, there he stands behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows, looking through the lattice.
10 My beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;
11 for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. –Song of Solomon 2:8-11

This love poem from the wisdom literature occurs in the midst of scriptures describing the comings and goings of good and bad leaders and the prophetic warnings associated with not following God’s way. Life goes on every day. Family happens. Winter turns to spring and young love is eternal. We do need to stop occasionally and remember love drives all parts of our lives whether it is love of God, love of siblings, or love of a spouse. Love drives all parts of our lives, if we let it.

Our society throws up many barriers to love’s wanting the best for another. It is frightening how many accounts we hear on the news of domestic violence: allegations of a boyfriend left in charge of his girlfriend’s baby who kills the child, teenagers who kill their parents and siblings, football players beating women, and a mother investigated 40 times for complaints of neglect of her children. All of these stories were reported in one day’s worth of news. Why is this happening? What do we need to do to help people learn the art of love in all aspects of their lives?

Evil overcomes us only when we drift away from God. Drifting away takes many forms and perhaps the most insidious is when we substitute manufactured false religious fervor for love and trust and hope in the living God. Selfishness overcomes love. Greed overcomes love. When the church sells both it tears at the fabric of faith.

Prayer: Lord forgive us when we choose to worship idols of self-indulgence rather than your great love. Merciful God help us love one another 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.

Hope in the Lord

hope_rises_Living in the Spirit
August 5, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
   Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my supplications!  

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
   Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
   so that you may be revered.  

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
   more than those who watch for the morning,
   more than those who watch for the morning.  

O Israel, hope in the Lord!
   For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
   and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
   from all its iniquities.

I am not a patient person. When I wait on the Lord, I fear, I do not do it with as much hospitality as God desires or deserves. My guess is when I am waiting on the Lord to do what I want, the Lord is waiting on me to figure out what I want is neither just nor right for the situation at hand. At the point I perceive the fallacy of my way, God shows me a better way.

As one who spent most of my career facilitating long-range planning, I learned early that there are as many ways of accomplishing something as there are people charged to make it happen. I usually had clear vision regarding plans to address issues about which I did not have a personal stake and could help the people involved see the ways they could weave their diverse approaches into productive outcomes. It is often our personal stakes that foster impatience and the need to wait on God in the first place. Those personal stakes may be spot on. After all, the people who know the subject matter better than most are the ones working to address it. Implementing change to bring about justice, however, does not occur in a vacuum. Change would not be necessary if we all shared the same viewpoint on an issue. Implementing change demands our seeing the world from a broader perspective.

When we turn to God and wait patiently for God to open our hearts and minds to a better way, we will find our hope in God’s love is well invested.

Prayer: Lord, help me to see and remove the log in my own eye limiting my vision toward understanding your way in working with 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Prophets

Jesus-washes-the-disciples-feetLiving in the Spirit
July 28, 2015

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a

Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from the hand of Saul; I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, for you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord: I will raise up trouble against you from within your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this very sun. For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan said to David, ‘Now the Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die. –2 Samuel 11:7-13

Where was my Nathan when I needed him, when I opened my mouth to pontificate wisely about things of which I truly had no wisdom? Where was he when I failed to speak when silence gave credence to injustice? Where was my Nathan when I turned a blind eye to my own sin? The remarkable thing about Nathan’s confrontation with David is David’s response. He recognized his sin and repented. While he still faced the consequences of his own action, the Lord forgave him.

Would I recognize a real Nathan, if I met one? There is so much chatter in our world today finding truth is difficult. Pilate’s question to Jesus at his trial “What is truth?”* echoes in my mind. When I seek guidance in all the clutter of absolutes available, many seem to lack the seasoning of God’s love. For Pilate, the politician, truth boiled down to expedient self-interest. David recognized the real Nathan when he hear the sound of God’s love in Nathan’s words.

I have come to follow what I call the test of love. If some action or policy or way of being does not pass the test of love it is not of God. When love is present God is present also.

Prayer: Help me to discern the true prophets within my world today. Let your words pour through them into my heart. Protect me from the false prophets saying what I perhaps want to hear, but is not sourced through love. Amen.

*John 18:38
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.

One in the Spirit

splash-teamLiving in the Spirit
July 23, 2015

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. –Ephesians 3:14-19

We are all children of God. I heard a young, freshman member of the state House of Representative say in a public gathering recently he had been surprised at all the, what I call, hate mail he routinely receives. We had asked him to tell us how we could best communicate our wishes to him as constituents. He was being lighthearted about the graphic correspondence he received, understanding people need to vent at times, I guess. I frankly do not know why anyone would run for any office. We the people seemed to have forgotten the first purpose of the government of the United States of America is to form a more perfect union and we the people are the government and the ones who are to form this union. These people we cast dispersions on represent us. Yes, we need to let them know our positions and yes, we need to be fully engaged in our citizenship, but we need to do it in love and in the spirit of oneness.

Thus, I needed to read this prayer for all of God’s people in our scripture today: I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. Jesus called us to be one and, I believe, the only way we can be one is through the power of the Spirit and the love of Christ.

Prayer: Lord, you created us a diverse people and called us to be one. Help us celebrate our differences while understanding that together and with you in our presence we can be greater than the sum of our parts. 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.

Judgment

justice and mercyLiving in the Spirit
July 1, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 48

We ponder your steadfast love, O God,
   in the midst of your temple. Your name,
O God, like your praise,
   reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with victory.
Let Mount Zion be glad, let the towns of Judah rejoice
   because of your judgments. –Psalm 48:9-11

God is the establisher of justice. We spend our entire lives dedicated to living into God’s justice. Our calling as people of God is not to oversee God’s judgments or even to enforce it. Our calling is to live justly ourselves and through our life’s work to draw others who do not know God to God. Yet we seem to spend a lot of energy on one hand trying to test the edges of justice ourselves while on the other hand defining our own understanding of justice for others. Jesus Christ proposed a radically different way of being. One in which we stayed as centered as possible in God’s justice and live God’s love in relationship with others.

Micah 6:8 tells us the other parts of our calling including showing mercy and walking humbly with God. Anytime we are dealing in the call of justice we must remember we are also called to mercy and humility.

Prayer: God of Love, enable us to take in your justice not define our own and help us to live justly with mercy and humility. 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.