Tag Archives: Loving Like Jesus

Repentance

Lent

March 19, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 13:1-9

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’–Luke 13:1-5

Years ago, a woman I worked with was treated very badly by the male executives in the agency. She was clearly the best person for a job that she did not get. It was awarded to a young man with little or no experience and who had less education. He became her supervisor. She, of course, ended up doing the work for which he was paid. I stopped by her office and told her how sorry I was, and she said, “that’s OK, the executives will get theirs in the end.” Something similar to Karma is easy to find in most cultures.

Jesus is telling us that God’s justice is not an accidental coincidence. God has commanded us to love one another with no exceptions. Jesus modeled that love in his life, death, and resurrection. We are judged by that scale. We all fall short of perfection in our love and thus, we need to come before God and confess our shortcomings and seek God’s better way. Psalm 51:1-2 might be a good scripture to apply to our lives. It is ascribed to David as his repentance over his relationship with Bathsheba. Here are the first two verses.

Prayer:
Have mercy on me, O God,
   according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
   blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
   and cleanse me from my sin. 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.

Seeing through Christ’s Eyes

Lent

March 17, 2022

Scripture Reading:

1 Corinthians 10:1-13

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness. –1 Corinthians 10:1-5

People who identify as Christians all read the same Bible and, too often, see what we want to see. There is a campaign ad running in Oklahoma against Governor Stitt regarding the crimes of one of the 400+ people who were granted early release under a program to reduce the sentences of people already in prison. This is not an endorsement of any candidate for office. It is an example of how totally different people understand the same stories. The man killed a woman cut out her heart, cooked it, and when some of the man’s family members refused to eat it, he killed them. The ad is saying the current Governor is not tough enough on crime. I saw it as the story of our total lack of appropriate mental health services in the state of Oklahoma. The man was not recommended for release, and, indeed there may be some people who need to be confined for the protection of others, but society has a responsibility to offer them every opportunity to find wholeness and to be the best person they can be. He could have committed the same crime in prison, killing other prisoners or prison staff. We just executed another mentally ill man who killed a member of the prison staff. That crime, too, was preventable had he received appropriate care.

Our scripture today talks about the fact that the Israelites had access to the God of love who fed them all the same spiritual food and drink, but some did not like its taste.

In times like these you need an anchor;
Be very sure, be very sure,
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!*

Prayer: Lord, help us clearly see the needs of all your children and work to help them attain wholeness. Amen.

First verse of hymn In Times Like These by Ruth Caye Jones See at https://namethathymn.com/christian-hymns/in-times-like-these-lyrics.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.

Heal Our Souls

Lent

March 16, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 63:1-8

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.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
   beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
   my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
   I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
   and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
   and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
   and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
   your right hand upholds me.

This is my go-to scripture for refreshing my relationship with God. I memorized it years ago and rarely read it. Today’s reading reminded me that the version I memorized is slightly different from the verses quoted above, but the sense remains the same. I am not sure how satisfied my soul is currently and I avoid rich feasts for my health. I do remember lazily sitting with mostly the women in my family after Thanksgiving dinner when I was a child. I know what a rich feast with loved ones is about and that the riches come from the sharing of love, which can also be measured by the healthiness or quantity of the food.  

Satisfying my soul, however, is a greater challenge. I am reminded of the third verse of the Christmas carol I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on Earth, ” I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men*

Hate is a symptom, not a cause. Greed and lust for power are the drivers of our lack of peace. I doubt seriously that those who war against others care about the people they hurt, the greedy want the other’s land or money or whatever else they may have that is of worth to the perpetrator. Greed is a fatal disease but before its death, many people can be damaged. Our great challenge is to share the love of God throughout the earth until the souls of all God’s children can be satisfied and they can end their quest for abundance by recognizing it only lies in sharing love with God and with one another.

Prayer: Lord, heal our souls so that we can be a conduit of your love to all your children. Amen.

*https://www.google.com/search?q=i+heard+the+bells+on+christmas+day+lyrics&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS987US987&oq=I+heard+t&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j35i39j46i512l4j0i512j46i512j0i512l2.4028j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

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.

Communing with God

Lent

March 15, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Isaiah 55:1-9

Seek the Lord while he may be found,
   call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
   and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
   and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts. –Isaiah 55:6-9

When can the Lord not be found? When is God not nearby? My experience tells me that I am the one who is lost, and I am the one who has pulled back from God. For two or three months after my mother died, I said my nightly prayers and got the sense that they were not getting past the ceiling. Grief does that to people. Finally, one evening as I prayed, I had the great sense that the very heavens had opened, and my prayers had not only transcended the ceiling but had indeed reached all the way to God’s abode. I also hold tightly to the scripture Romans 8:26, Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

On the other hand, I am guilty, at times, of wanting God’s ways to be my ways and wonder why God does not share my logic. To enjoy the abundant life the Lord designed for us we must seek the Lord not only in our prayers but also in our study and sharing with other people of faith. The challenge with that is we can invest more time in trying to convince others that our ways are God’s ways until we, like the first-century Pharisees, perceived God’s ways that Jesus modeled as a threat to the more comfortable ways we have established.

Prayer: Lord, create in us clean hearts and right spirits to incorporate your ways of being into our ways of being. 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.

Do Something

Lent

March 13, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)

Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’ When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen. –Luke 9:28-36

I find it hard to imagine what it must have been like to be a part of Jesus’s disciples as he ministers across Galilee and Judea. He was a man who never met a stranger, took on the establishment when he did not agree with them, told Peter to “Get behind me Satan” (Matthew 16:23) when Jesus tried to explain that he was to be killed. He loved children and cried when his friend died. He, indeed, was fully human, but then he healed the sick, raised the dead, stilled the storm, and reunited with Moses and Elijah on the mountainside. Was this man, really the Messiah, the promised one. If he was what does that mean to the disciples?

I do know the feeling of the need to do something, anything after a remarkable event. On the day of the Oklahoma City bombing, the building where I worked shook. TVs and radios were turned on to see what was going on and we saw the face of the Murrah Building gone. An announcement for blood donors was made, particularly for people with O- type blood, and that included me. I ran to my car and quickly drove to the nearest blood center only to see a line that was already two blocks long. I turned around and went to a nearby bank that had been turned into a collection center and encountered an even longer line. I parked and stepped to the end of the line. In just a few moments a volunteer passed by asking for people with O- blood. I raised my hand and was immediately rushed to the front of the line, still behind 50 or so people.

Jesus was transformed on that mountain but so were Peter, James, and John. Their first knee-jerk reaction sounds rather pathetic but was the beginning of a mission that changed the world. We wear their shoes now and our world could sure use some help.

Prayer: Lord, send your Spirit to guide us as we take your love to the ends of the earth. 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.

Glory as Shame

Lent

March 11, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. –Philippians 3:17-4:1

Paul writes about the enemies of the cross of Christ and describes their god as being their bellies and their glory their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things. I am not sure what he means by the cross is their enemy. Is it that our self-righteousness exceeds the humility of one willing to die for another? I am deeply moved by the people of Ukraine who understand in theory and in truth the importance of a democracy they are willing to die for. Compared to the idiocy of what is going on in our government both at the state and national level, I understand what Paul means by their glory is in their shame. The USA thinks it is the end-all and be-all of democracies but it is becoming more and more an oligarchy, ruled by the rich. Many of our elected officials do not listen to their constituents while they play them for fools as our leaders chase after the next best artificial controversy they can stir up while not dealing with issues that hurt the people they represent. Our voting for someone because he or she rants well about one’s right to not wear a mask to protect themselves or others from a killer virus, shields them from explaining why they have not raised the minimum wage since July 24, 2009. That is just one simple example. The constituents who matter to them are wealthy. Raising the minimum wage could cut into their wealth. Indeed, it would since we fail to index the minimum wage to the cost of living. Waiting 13 years to increase the minimum wage may have maintained wealth for some but has markedly increased real poverty.

People once wore braided bracelets highlighted with the letters WWJD that stands for what would Jesus do. I fear we do not care anymore what Jesus would do.

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

*The first verse of Dear Lord and Father of Mankind written by John Greenleaf Whittier see at https://hymnary.org/text/dear_lord_and_father_of_mankind#Author

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.

Representing Christ

Lent

March 10, 2022

Scripture Reading: Philippians 3:17-4:1

Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. –Philippians 3:17-4:1

Would we as Christians feel comfortable in saying to those who are not Christians: join in imitating me? I fear I would, to be honest, sometimes need to say do as I say not as I do. Do we not judge the validity of others by their actions rather than their words? I have already grown weary of the awful political ads that envelop my evening news while the same reporting I am hearing is telling me the ads are misleading or wrong. Paul may well have been a bit egotistical, but my guess is he did practice what he preached. It is hard at times to see through our human filters the Christ in each person we meet. We can only see that deep by putting on the whole armor of God that, indeed, will protect us from the evil that plants those false filters in our being.

Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. –Ephesians 6:11-13

 Prayer: Lord, help us to grow in faith so that we might, too, be a model of your love. Amen.

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

Terrible Twos

Lent

March 9, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 27

Teach me your way, O Lord,
   and lead me on a level path
   because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
   for false witnesses have risen against me,
   and they are breathing out violence.

I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord
   in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
   be strong, and let your heart take courage;
   wait for the Lord! –Psalm 27:11-14

As I watch what is going on in our world, I observe that some seem to be stuck in the state of growth described as the terrible twos. I search to see how that stage is described by the professionals and found this description:

Two-year-olds are struggling with their reliance on their parents and their desire for independence. They’re eager to do things on their own, but they’re beginning to discover that they’re expected to follow certain rules. The difficulty of this normal development can lead to inappropriate behavior, frustration, out-of-control feelings and tantrums*.

Does that not sound like the behavior of many adults today? We are caught in a world that is changing as drastically as it did during the Industrial Revolution or the Renaissance.  Life is moving at such a fast pace, we, too, are struggling to hold on to the past while desiring the expansive choices of the future. And we, too, are expected to follow certain rules for those choices to be wise. People of faith are called to consider how the Lord’s ways help us discern the better path as we traverse a new worldview.  Our ancestors in faith traveled the path of new ways. Abraham left Ur to travel around the desert to a new and different life. The Israelites left slavery to enter a new land and start again. Let us walk this walk with the sure and certain knowledge that the goodness of the Lord will prevail.

Prayer: God of the Future, help us be strong, and let our hearts take courage as we struggle to let go of the familiar and allow you to guide us through the expansive choices we must make. Amen.

*This is taken from a longer description you can read at https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/expert-answers/terrible-twos/faq-20058314#:~:text=The%20term%20%22terrible%20twos%22%20has,difficulty%20of%20dealing%20with%20them.

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.

Manifest Destiny

Lent

March 8, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

Then he said to him, ‘I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.’ But he said, ‘O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?’ He said to him, ‘Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.’ He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, –Genesis 15:7-12, 17-18

‘To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

The United States Magazine, and Democratic Review on the necessity of annexing Texas and the inevitability of American expansion. O’Sullivan was protesting European meddling in American affairs, especially by France and England, which he said were acting “for the avowed object of thwarting our policy and hampering our power, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.*”

And now Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, is claiming the state of Ukraine as his although he does not claim divine rights, but some eternal ownership. He seems to have plans to add other free countries in eastern Europe to his “land”.

How many wars have been fought over the ownership of land? How many people have died? Is the land game, a king-off-the-mountain game, prescribed by God? Or does evil interfere with the normal migrations of people to set groups against one another? Abram was at first welcomed in what is now the nation of Israel. I wonder what our nation would look like if the Europeans who had first arrived in the New World and the indigenous people who were already here truly worked to break bread together, learn from each other, and developed a world where swords were indeed melted to make plowshares.

We cannot rewrite the past, but we can create a future built on love and communities that work to support one another sans greed and lust for power if that is what we truly want.

Prayer: Lord, enable us to walk your path of righteousness and justice as we carve out our futures. Amen.

*Manifest Destiny explained see at https://www.britannica.com/event/Manifest-Destiny

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

Being Prepared

Lent

March 6, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 4:1-13

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you,
   to protect you”,
and
“On their hands they will bear you up,
   so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’
Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”’ When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time. –Luke 4:9-13

Evil is insidious, acting or spreading by imperceptible degrees: harmful, damaging, or destructive in a way that is gradual, or not easily noticed*.  Sounds like COVID or the stories I have read about the bubonic plague. We were encouraged to get vaccinated, wear masks, socially distance. Evil does spread by imperceptible degrees until we are so intertwined with it we cannot escape its tentacles.

Like taking health precautions to avoid or lessen the impact of viruses, we try to train children from birth to make good choices and give them tools like Jesus had in the wilderness to respond to evil when it besets us. Jesus as a young man had ready reference to scripture to debunk the enticements of the devil. We build resilience in our children by teaching and modeling better ways of love.

Prayer: Lord, help us to do our best to present ourselves to God as one approved by God, as workers who have no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth**. Amen.

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

**Derived from 2 Timothy 2:15

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.