Tag Archives: Loving Like Jesus

Expect Nothing

Ordinary Time

February 12, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 6:27-38

‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. –Luke 6:27-36

I do not recall when I started practicing the art of expecting nothing in return. It must have been somewhere in my childhood. The most positive thing about expecting nothing is when a positive response returns to you—an uncontrolled smile or a  reflexive hug—it becomes an unexpected blessing.

There is no way any of us can know everything that has happened in another’s history or even if they have a toothache that makes them behave the way they do. Others have the same problem when they consider why I do what I do or say what I say. I think God created very different people because a diversity of skills and talents are needed to maintain the world. Sometimes we need others to translate those differences to help create cohesion in the work we do. I grew up on a farm went to a very small rural school. Although I have lived in a city two-thirds of my life, I still understand the differing needs of people living in the country and those living in the city. I can become a translator between the two entities.

Jesus uses the language of the day like “enemies” to describe other people, but he is also saying that there are no enemies when love rules; there may be some people who do not understand that yet. We are called to translate that through our love.

Prayer: Help us to love others expecting nothing in return. 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.

 

God’s Lessons

Ordinary Time

February 11, 2022

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 15:12-20

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

I guess I cringe at scriptures like this because they have been misrepresented to make oppression holy. The great history of faith in Jesus Christ springing out of American slavery was formed in a time when slaves were taught to mind their masters well and their reward would come in heaven. Such theology runs through other caste systems including misogyny*. The miracle of God’s grace is that people came come out of oppression with an even deeper faith even though their oppressors tried to mislead them. God’s love transcends human distortions. Those of us who inherited our faith can too easily take it for granted and never take the time to delve into the depths of God’s love.

Paul was writing to the Christ-followers in his letter to the Corinthians who were apparently struggling with the idea that a dead person could come back to life.  This scripture nowhere says if one gives in to the powers-that-be they will inherit eternal life. He says not believing in Jesus’s resurrection separates one from God. The argument about the resurrection is a whole other theological discussion that has nothing to do with sanctifying oppression.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we twist words to salve our own sins. Thank you for your amazing grace that prospers your love in spite of human attempts to redefine it.  Amen.

*For more information on this, you might want to read Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, Robin Miles, et al.

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.

God’s Messengers

Ordinary Time

January 31, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.’
The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’

I stopped to imagine the Seraphs described above and wondered if any artists had attempted to draw it. Most pictures that I found dealt in abstraction, but a couple attempted a likeness. One such picture is featured above. We take for granted today’s flight without pilots having the ability to see where they were going. In the 7th century BC, the idea of sightless flying was most likely tied to the guidance of the Divine.

How does God speak to us today? The Man of La Mancha, musical addresses that question in the second verse of The Impossible Dream,

To right the unrightable wrong
And to love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are to weary
To reach the unreachable star

Our calling is to identify the unrightable wrongs and seek God’s guidance and power to correct them. Isaiah tried to save Israel from its unrightable wrongs as did other prophets and the people stubbornly refused to turn to God’s ways. Time will tell if we follow God or face the consequences if we do not.

Prayer: Lord, let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. (Amos 5:24) Amen.

Second verse of The Impossible Dream by Leigh Mitch / Darion Joseph, The Impossible Dream lyrics © Helena Music Company, Andrew Scott Music, Helena Music Corp. See at https://www.google.com/search?q=the+impossible+dream+lyrics&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS987US987&sxsrf=APq-WBvgCIb1irM5m3aM56we2YigDoqcEA%3A1643579189923&ei=NQf3YdTVN-amqtsPq9CXgAY&oq=right+an+unrightable+wrong&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQsAMQHkoFCDwSATFKBAhBGABKBAhGGABQAFgAYPIZaAFwAXgAgAEAiAEAkgEAmAEAyAEEwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz

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.

Here Am I Send Me

Ordinary Time

January 30, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 5:1-11

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

What do we put first in our lives? What are our priorities? Where does God fall in our plan for our lives? How invested are we in sharing the love of God to the ends of the earth? How hard do we work to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God*? If Jesus called us from our work, would we leave everything and follow him?

We are not all called to be full-time pastors, God does call us to be full-time Christ-followers. In fact, being in the world, working, going to school, volunteering gives us opportunities to answer that call in very meaningful ways. We do not have to do everything, but we do need to do something as well as possible to share the love of God with others and to create a world ruled by love.

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see where you need us most and guide us in following you wherever you call us.  Amen.

*Derived from Micah 6:8

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.

Called to Serve

January 29, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 5:1-11

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Jesus understood he needed a diversity of disciples to carry out God’s plan for God’s people.  Paul put it this way in Romans 12:1-5, For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.

I once worked in a hospital that was being rebuilt while conducting its mission. That resulted in the main parking lot’s closure requiring much of the staff to walk several blocks from a temporary lot located in a high crime area at all hours of the day. Most of the janitorial staff were women over 50, many did not have the appropriate clothing for the weather. The elite parking places near the entrance of the building were reserved for doctors, residents, and interns, most, at that time, were males in the prime of their lives. In a staff meeting, the issue of the long, unsafe walk arose. The leaders said the doctors are the most important staff in the hospital. Lives depended on their presence. To which one in attendance replied, “if the surgical theater was not spotlessly clean, the work of a surgeon could be meaningless.” There was silence and finally the comment “we will look into it.” That same week two vans began picking up and returning employees to the distant parking lot on a regular schedule.

God created an interdependent world where everyone has a purpose and is needed to fulfill God’s vision of God’s kingdom here on earth.

Prayer: Lord, enable us each to serve you as you have called us and enable us to work together in shalom. 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.

Learning from Mistakes

Ordinary Time

cycle to reach success: try, fail, try again, success

January 28, 2022

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 2:14-18

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

It took guts for God to create humans and grant them free will. God could have basked in a Garden-of-Eden world where all things were bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all*. Why do we suppose God created humans? Did God long for pardners in God’s quest to create a more dynamic world with beings who could also create along with God and spread love and be loved in return? Was God so perplexed by human’s inability to escape the temptations of the world that God needed to understand being human? Through Jesus God experienced being human and learned the test of temptation and God gave us a reboot? With the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ, we gained salvation and grace. We have a loving Creator God who recognized the need for humans to have second chances which we must choose to take and not remain in the cycle of Groundhogs Day**.

They say there’s a universal plan
For every woman, for every man
I do believe there’s a higher power
But in our darkest hour it’s hard to understand
So we start to question, start to doubt
We lose faith in what life’s all about
Why did the right road take the wrong turn
Why did our heart break, why’d we get burned
Just like the seasons there are reasons for the path we take
There are no mistakes
Just lessons to be learned***

Prayer: Lord, give us the guts to learn from our mistakes and take advantage of your second changes until we do not need them anymore. Amen.

*First verse of All Things Bright and Beautiful by Cecil Frances Alexander see at https://hymnary.org/text/each_little_flower_that_opens#Author

**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film)

***First verse and chorus to song Lessons to be Learned by Gazeley / Malamet / Rich see at https://www.google.com/search?q=lessons+to+be+learned+barbra+streisand+lyrics&rlz=1C1VDKB_enUS987US987&sxsrf=APq-WBvmA1VgseLRLx3vKIfKQuCbR4hQLg%3A1643381883802&ei=ewT0YcWtMPyoqtsP2bq7uA4&oq=Lessons+to+be+learned&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIHCCMQsAMQJzIHCCMQsAMQJzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIHCAAQRxCwAzIMCC4QyAMQsAMQQxgAMgwILhDIAxCwAxBDGABKBQg8EgExSgQIQRgASgQIRhgAUABYAGC-G2gBcAJ4AIABAIgBAJIBAJgBAMgBC8ABAdoBBAgAGAg&sclient=gws-wiz

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.

God’s Abundance

Ordinary Time

January 27, 2022

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 2:14-18

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Have we lost the art of empathy and compassion? Are we trading it for self-rightlessness and greed as we are encouraged on every side to think we are better than others, and that others are people we should fear? Franklin Roosevelt cautioned the people caught in the snares of deep depression and drought that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself.

The Hebrews scripture above tells us that Christ did not come to help angels but flesh and blood people—that is us. Why did we need help? The people of God had training from the beginning in how to live a life that would serve the tests of time. God sent prophets to remind our ancestors in the faith of God’s formula for an abundant life. Yet, many longed for the world’s definition of abundance rather than God’s, and each time, too late, they learned the error of their way.

I suppose we have always had some element of such distractions but today we are surely caught in not only a viral pandemic but also a pandemic of the soul. God’s ways are still out there for us to follow, Christ’s messages are readily available, but are we willing to seek God’s higher ground?

Prayer: Lord, open our lives to living in your abundance. 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.

Rebuilding

Ordinary Time

January 25, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Jeremiah 1:4-10
‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’
Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me,
‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you
says the Lord.’
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.’

What in our lives do we need to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow? Those are harsh words of action.  Pluck means to take hold of something and quickly move it from its place. The word pluck reminds me of the unpleasant task of removing the feathers from a dead chicken before it could be cooked. Pulling down probably refers to tearing down a building, destroying means to turn something like a building into ashes, and overthrowing means removing and replacing one in control. However, I do not think these are the concerns of Jeremiah. He is using symbolism to suggest how people need to change and change drastically if they are going to get out of the mess in which they find themselves. We are in such a situation today. We each need to consider what is holding us back from creating the Kingdom God envisioned for us when God sent Jesus, the Christ, to us for the purpose of remolding us to be the people we are totally capable of being. We have moved a long way from that standard, and it will take serious intentional change to live into that vision.

The final phrase, to build and to plant, is our source of hope. Once we clear out the rubble, we can rebuild and plant needs seeds of love.

Prayer: Lord, help us examine ourselves and our communities of faith to find your path and follow it as we rebuild and renew our love and act within it. Amen.

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

Let Your Light Shine

Ordinary Time

January 24, 2022

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10
 ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’
Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me,
‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
says the Lord.’
Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.’

One of the few bright spots in our world today is the actions of youth and young adults to make the world we live in a better place. From world-renowned advocates for peace, Malala Yousaf and for climate change, Greta Thunberg, to Amanda Gorman who recited her poem, The Hill We Clime, at the Biden inauguration, young adults are taking responsibility for making the world a better place. There are also those who show up and take charge of the small, community-related issues. I saw a teenager filling holes in the streets in front of his home on TV a few months ago, and youth through their own initiative trying to end school shootings. Jeremiah was one such young adult who accepted the call to warn his nation of its folly. We can learn a lot from the study of the book of Jeremiah, and we can learn a lot from the example of the young people in our world today setting the example for us adults.

Prayer: Lord, let our light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven*. Amen.

*Derived from Matthew 5:16

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.

Ministry of Justice

Ordinary Time

January 23, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 4:14-21

When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
   because he has anointed me
     to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
   and recovery of sight to the blind,
     to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’  –Luke 4:16-21

The text for Jesus’s first sermon was Isaiah 58:6, and 61:1-2 quoted above. They outline his ministry’s purpose—bringing justice to the poor, captives, blind, and to letting the oppressed go free. These remain our goals today. We have failed repeatedly to maintain justice.  We live in the richest nation in the world and yet $140 million people* live in poverty or are one crisis away from poverty. Former students remain in low-income situations because of interest rates making payback of loans a lifelong commitment. They are captives to a system designed to make the rich richer not to lift people out of poverty. It is interesting that Jesus chose the blind to highlight. Besides returning sight to the blind, It may mean he came to open all people’s eyes to disparities in our world and how we drift away from the core of God’s plan for all creation. Oppression continues in the USA, for example, Black male offenders continued to receive longer sentences than similarly situated White male offenders**.  According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, in 2020, women’s annual earnings were 82.3% of men’s, and the gap is even wider for women of color.

I invite you to join me in a season of prayer for our nation and our world as we seek to discern what kind of world in which we want to live, during this election year.

Prayer: Lord, Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for me, Spirit divine!*** Amen.

*For more information see https://wwSeew.poorpeoplescampaign.org/140-million-maps/

** see https://www.ussc.gov/research/research-reports/demographic-differences-sentencing

Derived from hymn Open My Eyes by Clara H. Scott see at https://hymnary.org/text/open_my_eyes_that_i_may_see

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.