Tag Archives: Loving Like Jesus

Diversity and Inclusion

Eastertide

April 26, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Acts 9:1-6, (7-20)

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.’ But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’ –Acts 9:10-20

I am currently reading N. T. Wright’s Paul: A Biography where Wright picks out what the Bible tells us about Paul, reads a bit between the lines of Paul’s letters, and tosses in some history of the times Paul wrote. It is very good. Paul started out life as, Saul of Tarsus who already had a reputation of being tough on Christians, who at that time were considered part of the Jewish religion. Saul, indeed, had the blessings of the official Jewish faith leaders of the time to correct the erring ways of this group. One cannot blame Ananias for being hesitant to help Saul. Yet, the Lord assured Ananias it was necessary and so it was.

As I read the above scripture and considered Paul’s biography, I realized how much we share some of the same challenges Paul dealt with in introducing Jesus Christ to the gentiles. I am reminded of the varied systems of belief among those who Identify as Christians today. Indeed, we have had 2000 years on which to build our faith, but we remain miles apart when turning our faith into action. Two thoughts come to mind. First diversity and inclusion are necessary, not contradictory. Second, evil is still striving to break the strength of being one in God by using the divide and conquer method aimed at breaking the bonds of love celebrated in diversity and inclusion.

Prayer: Lord, strengthen our whole beings to stand against divide and conquer strategies used to separate us from 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.

Finding the Right Path

Eastertide

April 25, 2022

Scripture Reading: Acts 9:1-20

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ He asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The reply came, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.’ The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. —Acts 9:1-9

How does God prick our consciences to turn us around from being driven by external forces trying to foster their self-interest, not God’s ways? The conscience is the sense of right or wrong within the individual*. Saul received a strong dose of consciousness on that road to Damascus. He had been schooled by the best temple leaders, in the religious thoughts of the day and was following them diligently. Jesus, this son of a carpenter, had challenged them, indicating that those leaders had turned their backs on God’s ways. Jesus brought a message of loving one another, caring for the poor and the sick, not just totally investing themselves in following all the rituals laid out by those temple leaders. In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus described a priest and a Levite who chose not to help a seriously injured man they met on the road. While a Samaritan did stop and help the man and took him to shelter. Samaritans were considered religious outcasts by the Jews. Jesus shunned no one, while the temple leaders maintained a long list of people who were not worthy and should be avoided. Jesus was crucified for his challenges.

We, too, must struggle with the teachings that some people are better in God’s eyes than others, that some sins are far worse than others, and worse yet some assign themselves the right to judge which attitudes or actions are right and which are wrong. In many instances, such people judge only the actions they would never do as sin and ignore others in which they are involved.

Jesus is still challenging all of us to choose our path wisely.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference**.

Prayer: Lord, prick our consciousness to protect us from taking the wrong path. Guide us to your ways. Amen.

* https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/conscience

**The last verse of The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost see at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken

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.

To Life

Eastertide

April 24, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 20:19-31

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. –John 20:24-31

The Greek word for life is zōḗ* and it means—life (physical and spiritual). All life (2222 /zōḗ), throughout the universe, is derived – i.e. it always (only) comes from and is sustained by God’s self-existent life. The Lord intimately shares His gift of life with people, creating each in His image which gives all the capacity to know His eternal life.

Life is a precious gift from God not to be taken for granted and not to be wasted. Our lives are the product of God’s love and we are called to live into and through that love. It was best illustrated in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ. His life is the model for our living in bad times and in good, in the doubt of Thomas and the certainty of our author, John. I rather like the Hebrew take on life as played out in the musical Fiddler on the Roof describes life thusly,

  1. Our great men have written words of
    Wisdom to be used
    When hardship must be faced;
    Life obliges us with hardship
    So the words of wisdom
    shouldn’t go to waste.
  • God would like us to be joyful
    Even though our hearts lie panting on the floor;
    How much more can we be joyful,
    When there’s really something
    To be joyful for**.

God is with us in spirit and in truth, loving us completely, and holding us to the high expectation of building a world ruled by God’s love.

Prayer: Lord, on this first Sunday after Easter, grant us the guidance to understand the wisdom of those who shared your history in word and in deed and the perseverance to take joy in your service no matter how stressful it becomes. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/2222.htm

**source: https://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtracks/f/fiddlerontherooflyrics/tolifelyrics.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.

Syncing with God

Eastertide

April 21, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Revelation 1:4-8

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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.

John, the writer of Revelation, opens his letters to the seven churches with an extensive description of the Lord. John does this to help his readers understand that he is well acquainted with all the manifestations of God. John is establishing his credentials for writing letters of judgment, with warnings in some, sympathy in others, to help those churches mature in faith and in the furtherance of the Kingdom of God. The letters are, indeed, a good study of how communities of faith work and don’t work. They encourage such communities to stay on top of what is right and what is wrong with their practices and to make corrections as necessary.

I seem to have a need, at some times more than others, to start my prayers with elaborate naming of the various aspects of God in my relationship with God. I sometimes quote scripture, like Psalm 63:1 O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Now, I am sure God knows all that already. I am really credentialing myself in preparation for communing with God. Being aware of our characteristics helps us better communicate as we try to get in sync with God. I remember well when I first took the Myers-Briggs personality types* survey and learned that I was an INTJ. I quickly turned to the descriptions of an INTJ and read among the negatives that they tend to take things personally. I thought, “I do not take things personally, how dare they”, and realized in that response I just did. I must accept that life is not always all about me. That is just one example but being aware of such things about ourselves helps us work, love, and further the development of the kingdom of God better.

Prayer: Lord, help us understand better who we are and how we function so that we can serve you more completely. Amen.

*For more information see https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.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.

Unsealing the Tomb

Easter

April 17, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Matthew 27:57-66

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, ‘Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, “After three days I will rise again.” Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, “He has been raised from the dead”, and the last deception would be worse than the first.’ Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.’ So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.

Seal the tomb so Jesus’s body could not be removed and, thus, his followers would be unable to say he had risen from the grave. In what tombs do we lock Jesus? If he had not been resurrected what of his message would we still follow? We now pick and chose the things he taught with which we agree, we ignore or explain away things with which we do not agree, and finally, we put words in his mouth that we do not have a record of him saying. As followers of God one of our greatest challenges is not recreating God in the image, we desire God to be.

God is calling us this Easter morning to unseal the tomb we place around Jesus. Studying the scriptures is a good place to start, but they, too, are limited to space and time that no longer apply to all our situations. We must also spend time in prayer and meditation seeking God’s guidance in understanding the world around us and how its systems work together for the fruition of the Kingdom of God or pull apart to stop its coming to reality. We must allow God to grow our faith trusting in God’s wisdom as it is given to us. Today we must step out in faith and let go of one thing that is holding us back from being fully the persons God created us to be. If it is a big step we may need to break it down into smaller parts, changing one at a time. If it is a small venture. We must finish it and move to the next. Make Easter your starting place for newness in faith.

Prayer: Lord, lead us into seeking and implementing your plan for the Kingdom of God. 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.

Our Cloud of Witnesses

Lent

April 12, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 49:1-7

Listen to me, O coastlands,
   pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
   while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
   in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
   in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, ‘You are my servant,
   Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’
But I said, ‘I have labored in vain,
   I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
   and my reward with my God.’ –Isaiah 49:1-4

Our world is broken in many ways. Are we each and altogether doing the very best we can to bring our world to wholeness? Isaiah, in the scripture above, may have written this poem to strengthen his commitment to following God’s call to be a prophet. He assesses his skills and talents to determine that he had done the very best he could to answer God’s call. However, he discerned that he had labored in vain, but concluded that the final measure of his work, rested with God and he took comfort in that. Did Isaiah even consider that over 2,700 years later his words would be giving encouragement and hope to God’s people trying to find wholeness?

Many working for justice in our world today have the scars of taking one step forward and two steps back. We too assessed what we could have done better, and that is important as we search for better ways to love God and love our neighbors as we love ourselves—all our neighbors, the sick, the hungry, the rich, the poor. Staying in sync with God is the only goal we can depend on to measure our contributions toward the Kingdom of God. While we may not see the success we want, in our lifetime we may have planted the seeds for our descendants in faith who continue the work to which we are called.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for our ancestors in faith who provide us hope for the work we do in your name. 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.

Justice Is Good for All

Lent

April 11, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
   my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
   he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
   or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
   and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
   he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be crushed
   until he has established justice in the earth;
   and the coastlands wait for his teaching. –Isaiah 42:1-4

Jesus lived, and thus modeled, Justice in his time on earth. His standing up against the injustice of powerful religious leaders ultimately got him killed. God’s demand for justice flows through the entire Bible because justice out of balance is bad for everyone even those who seem to be benefiting from the distribution of rights. For example, people who cannot afford routine, preventive health care often land in the emergency room, the most expensive health care available. These people are often in advanced stages of all kinds of diseases that could have been prevented but now require major intervention. We all pay higher insurance rates to cover the expenses of care for everyone.

The poetry of the above scripture is heartwarming. Justice is described as not breaking bruised reeds not putting out the light of a dimly burning wick. The Lord makes it a priority to care for the most vulnerable. We should too.

Prayer: Lord, help us be doers of justice. Amen.

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

When Hope Seems to Stop

Lent

April 10, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 23:1-49

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’ And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. –Luke 23:44-49

Pictures of death stream into my home from Ukraine, spreading across my thoughts causing me to skip through the sequence of events that led to Jesus’s death—Jesus before Pilate, Jesus before Herod, Jesus Sentenced to Death, The Crucifixion of Jesus. I saw a woman with no more tears to cry telling the reporter, “They killed my grandson.” As she stared at a place on the ground where he must have been found dead along with all his hopes and potential. Why?

This day marks the beginning of what we call Holy Week where we remember the way of the cross. Reading the entire scripture cited above will help us relive the events throughout this week.  It is a solemn time. It is a good time for each of us to take stock of our lives and determine what the meaning of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection has for the way we live.

4 For me, kind Jesus, was thy incarnation,
thy mortal sorrow, and thy life’s oblation;
thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
for my salvation.

5 Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee,
think on thy pity and thy love unswerving,
not my deserving*.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in finding ways to make our lives can more meaningfully represent the life you modeled for us.   Amen.

*Verses 4 and 5  of the hymn Ah, Holy Jesus by Johann Heermann See at https://hymnary.org/text/ah_holy_jesus_how_hast_thou_offended

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.

Common Good

Lent

April 5, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a

The Lord God has given me
   the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
   the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
   wakens my ear
   to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord God has opened my ear,
   and I was not rebellious,
   I did not turn backwards.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
   and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
   from insult and spitting. –Isaiah 50:4-6

I do not know if I have the tongue of a teacher, but I do enjoy facilitating good discussion and I usually work with adults. I grew from experiences in various employment. I did almost every job except fry cook at one of the chain restaurants on an interstate, cleaned houses, babysat children, and worked as a nursing assistant at two different nursing homes when I was in high school and college. I grew from each of these experiences, and I think those experiences helped me move into my career as a better prepared social worker and later as a pastor. In Bible studies, I learn from small business owners about the challenges of the business world, from welders and plumbers to accountants and lawyers. As a child welfare worker, I grew to appreciate sheriffs, deputies, and other law enforcement officials.

I have a sense that we are trying to build a world where everyone thinks alike and sees the world from a single perspective. God created a world requiring people with many diverse skills and talents to maintain it. Such work would, of necessity, require us to share our experiences as we work together for the common good. Perhaps the problem is that we do not care about the common good.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for providing other people in my life who give me a better understanding of this world you created. 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.

Ending Poverty

Lent

April 2, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 12:1-8

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 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.’

Some people interpret Jesus’s statement You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me, as there is nothing, we can do about the poor. I think he was saying we need to use our time wisely. Poverty does, indeed, strike individuals and families and in Matthew 25 Jesus tells us we are to incorporate the alleviation of lack of food, appropriate clothing, and health care into our service to God.  The statement you will always have the poor with you, however, recognizes that poverty is a systemic problem that not only requires attention to meeting needs but also changing societal norms that support poverty’s existence.

About 97 million more people are living on less than $1.90 a day because of the pandemic, increasing the global poverty rate from 7.8 to 9.1 percent; 163 million more are living on less than $5.50 a day. Globally, three to four years of progress toward ending extreme poverty are estimated to have been lost*.

U.S. Billionaires Got 62 percent Richer During Pandemic. They’re Now Up $1.8 Trillion **. Global Billionaires See $5.5 Trillion Pandemic Wealth Surge ***.

There is something very wrong with this picture.

While poverty increased during the pandemic it was running amok before the pandemic. Food stamps, childcare subsidies, and Medicaid provided for low-wage families are essentially the benefits not being provided by large corporations. Middle-class taxes are largely paying for these benefits. Small businesses suffer too because they cannot compete with the mass producers. Small farms are dying all over the country. It is a complex and difficult problem to solve and in the final analysis, because we have ignored it for some time, we will all be impacted by the necessary changes. History tells us that when the rich just keep getting richer and the poor poorer the foundation of the economy is destroyed and so goes the empires. The USA is flirting with that reality now. Greed eventually eats itself.

Jesus teaches a simple story, that loving our neighbors as we love ourselves lets us have an abundant life. John 10:10b, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Abundance is not measured in money it is the fullness of life found in spirit, soul, and body.

Prayer: Lord, show us the way to your abundance for all. Amen.

*https://blogs.worldbank.org/developmenttalk/covid-19-leaves-legacy-rising-poverty-and-widening-inequality#:~:text=About%2097%20million%20more%20people,estimated%20to%20have%20been%20lost.

**https://ips-dc.org/u-s-billionaires-62-percent-richer-during-pandemic/

***https://ips-dc.org/global-billionaires-see-5-5-trillion-pandemic-wealth-surge/

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.