Tag Archives: Loving Like Jesus

What Is Truth?

Ordinary Time

January 22, 2022

Scripture Reading:
Luke 4:14-21

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. –Luke 4:14-15

This scripture describes how Jesus came back from wandering in the wilderness where he was tempted by the devil. He, applying the teachings of his faith and taking advantage of the gifts of the Spirit, was able to withstand the willy creature and returned to begin his ministry. That did not mean Jesus was never tempted again. However, he learned from experience where help was when he needed it. Those same sources of help are available to us today as we commune with God.

When I was in grade school my dad was committed to a popular radio minister who offered a correspondence course that dad received in the mail. We spent evenings, where I read the lessons aloud at his behest.  Each lesson was carefully written with what the author discerned as important presented in bold print. Even at the age of ten, I was cynical of these teachings and my greatest act of defiance was never to read the bolded sections with emphasis. Two good outcomes resulted. I developed skills at reading allowed and the drive to test everything I read or heard for its veracity– devotion to the truth. The older I get the more I understand the Spirit guides me toward finding and understanding truth.  For me, the most profound measure of truth is whether the situation being assessed passes the test of love.

We find ourselves in a world where truth is evasive and lying is treated like truth if one can get away with it. At times my mind flashes back to the scene in John 18 where Jesus says ‘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.’  and Pilate says, ‘What is truth?’

Make no mistake truth is stronger than all the evil in the world and truth does exist.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of the Spirit and turning awkward situations into positive lessons learned. 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.

Called

Ordinary Time

January 15, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 2:1-11

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

How do we know the right time to initiation our life’s calling?

  • Moses encountered a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-17),
  •  Gideon tested God twice before following God’s command (Judges 6:36-7:23),
  • Isaiah had a vision (Isaiah 6),
  • Jesus had a mother who was told by an angel who her son was, and she encouraged his stepping into that role (Luke 1:26-38).

These were all leaders whose works deserved recording in the annals of history. However, each Christ-follower has at least one calling, likely many, from checking on the sick to donating food to a pantry or working for justice for all God’s children. Each person is gifted with skills to foster the Kingdom of God on this earth. Answering our calling and supporting others in theirs are critical elements to enabling a world ruled by God’s love. We must keep our whole beings open to hearing our calls and answering them.

Prayer: Grant us each the strength and courage first to hear your call and then answer it with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 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.

We Can Do All Things in Christ

Ordinary Times

January 13, 2022

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. –1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 27-31a

Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City was a decrepit place when I arrived to work there in 1974. That is, the building and facilities were dilapidated. I was amazed at the quality of work accomplished by a very dedicated staff who cared about children—all children. They provided routine care for the poorest of the poor up to state-of-the-art lifesaving care for any child that needed it within the limitations of its resources. The state legislature could not find the money to improve the facilities until they remembered that the two-cent sales tax could only be used by the Department of Public Welfare. So, they transferred the Children’s hospital to DPW and said fix it, and Lloyd Rader did. He was a powerful man, scary even, but he knew how to get things done.

Much of the social work staff at the hospital left with the transfer to DPW. I was a child welfare supervisor in Payne County and was transferred to supervise social workers at Children’s Hospital. Trailers were set up to house much of the administrative staff while rebuilding was completed. The social work staff officed at the end of a wide hallway. My boss was a wonderful gentleman. Each morning he came by our “office” and emptied all the mouse traps in our desks before we began work. I remember those days when I drive by the beautiful facility in its place today and hear about their various services and accomplishments. Those changes happened because some people saw a need, others joined them, and a state-of-the-art facility became a reality.

As the Body of Christ, we are called to work together for the well-being of all God’s children, whether caring for the sick or assuring that all people have the necessities of life. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us*.

Prayer: Help us see needs and meet them. Amen.

*Derived from Philippians 4:13

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.

Distraction

Ordinary Time

January 8, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ –Luke 3:15-17

One of the advantages of having grown up on a farm is understanding what things like chaff are. Chaff is all the stuff that engulfs seeds or the fruits of harvesting grain that must be removed to take full advantage of those fruits. In ancient times, crops harvested from the fields were processed to remove all that clutter no longer used. Often that meant tossing the seeds into the air where the winds blew the lighter chaff away. Threshing machines and combines eventually were invented to clear it out. It was considered waste and was often burned where it was collected.

The above scripture leaves the impression that this activity is a one-time venture, and it is regarding wheat seeds at each harvest. However, we humans tend to gather the trash of life like dust being removed one day and reappearing the next. Therefore, we must be very intentional about removing the distractions from our lives that keep us from fulfilling our calling and purpose.

Distraction has become a mainstay of modern politics. I recently posted some information about poverty on a social media site, starting with quoting the low unemployment rate that had just been announced for Oklahoma. The remainder of the piece described how full employment would not end poverty in our world today. Though superfluous, the arguments discredited my knowledge, even though what I had written was correct and probably stopped readers from seeing the data on poverty. I heard political analyst John Dickerson on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (1-6-2022) saying that this distraction process was an intentional assault of those who want us to question everything while driving home unsubstantiated information.

Jesus cautioned us in Matthew 10:16, ‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Wise words for the world we live in today.

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage and strength to be your Body in the world today. Amen.

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

Noxious Foe

Ordinary Time

January 7, 2022

Scripture Reading: Acts 8:14-17

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

While I value the Holy Spirit greatly, I never know how to share my thoughts about the Spirit with others. John 3:8 states my dilemma well, The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’

I searched for other references to the Holy Spirit and stumbled on an old hymn with no other reference than 5 L. M. and the title Creator Spirit. I laughed when I read the last verse because it expressed well my immediate feelings about the world these days, although I never thought I might sing the word “noxious.” Here is that verse

Chase from our path each noxious foe,
And peace, the fruit of love, bestow;
And, lest our feet should go astray,
Protect and guide us on our way*.

Noxious foe may be a better descriptor than evil for what is afoot in our world today. We are being besieged on all sides by unnecessary and unmeaningful distractions. That refocuses us on issues that have little to do with the problems being addressed. The goal, I think, is to cast doubt on all information about subjects some people do not want to be brought to the forefront. Therefore, we must be diligent in our advocacy while not getting pulled into the nets of our noxious foes.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gift of the Spirit, who will guide us not to go astray if we see such guidance. Amen.

*https://hymnary.org/hymn/HoS1864/page/14 (number 5)

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 a Neighbor

Epiphany

January 6, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Acts 8:14-17

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Remember the story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus used it to illustration the answer to the question, “who is my neighbor?” The Jewish people did not consider Samaritans as their equal and certainly not their neighbor, recognizing that neighbor means more than living on adjoining property. So Jesus was essentially saying that all people are to be treated like a good neighbors.

I have experienced living next door to a person who made it difficult to be neighborly at times. My house was being reroofed after a significant storm. My house is old and has an exceptionally steep roof, so it was no easy job. It was also over 100 degrees every day they worked. My doorbell rang and I met the roofing company manager who came to apologize to me for his workers’ throwing the old shingles on the ground in front of my house. I must have looked curious when I responded, asking him how else they could have gotten them down. It was his turn to look at me curiously. He said his office had gotten a call complaining about it, and he assumed it was from me. I assured him I had not made that call, but I was sure who did. I apologized for my neighbor’s inappropriate interference. I assured him I was very impressed with his staff. They were very polite and worked very hard, doing their best to be as tidy as possible.

People have not changed much in 2000 years. The story in Acts recorded above tells us that people can change if they are intentional, and their hearts are opened to the teachings of One, who called us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We need to emphasize both parts of that advice. I believe much of the discord in today’s world results from not loving ourselves enough to love our neighbors. Somehow, most of us are taught directly or indirectly that we must be better than others to be people of worth. That is simply not true. All God expects of us is to be the best at being us when we do that, we can learn to understand others better and welcome them into our neighborhood ruled by God.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we fail to love ourselves so that we can love others without prejudice or privilege. 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.

Blowing in the Wind

Christmastide

January 5, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
   worship the Lord in holy splendor.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
   the God of glory thunders,
   the Lord, over mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
   the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
   the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
   and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
   the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,
   and strips the forest bare;
   and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
   the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
   May the Lord bless his people with peace!

A year ago today, I got my first COVID vaccination. A few days later, a friend asked if I had had any reaction, and I had to stop and think about it. The answer was no, I did not believe I had any response to the shot, but I really would not know. The next day was January 6, 2021, the day a crowd of people stormed the US Capitol and tried to stop the certification of our recent election. I spent the day watching it all unfold on TV, and yes, I was sick, sick at heart, and sick for our country. Since that time, I have tried to understand why that happened and what was going on across our land.

I do not have the answer, but I have paid a lot more attention to the prophets’ writings because they saw the same reactions among the peoples of the land of Israel. They eventually split and were overrun by other countries. The House of Israel was dispersed, and the House of Judah was ultimately taken into exile. I do not think anyone wants that to happen to us. I honestly do not think we know what we want. We seek wealth and power and privilege and try to out-religion each other. Yet our needs are not met.

Bob Dylan wrote a song that addressed this issue, The Answer My Friend is Blowing in the Wind. Jesus put it this way, The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.‘—John 3:8. We, indeed, are looking in all the wrong places when the answer has been with us since creation. Perhaps the time has come when we must ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for looking in all the wrong places for what you provided from the 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.

Songs of God

Christmastide

January 3, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Isaiah 43:1-7

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth-everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

Hymns from my youth played through my thoughts as I read this scripture. No Never Alone*, Jesus Loves the Little Children** (they are precious in his sight), and In Christ there is no east or west***. The first two songs are not in the current hymnal we use at my church. Music trends change just like everything else, but music plants the theology of our future in our lives as children that may stick with us longer than anything else we are taught. I think of my brother-in-law lying in ICE with COVID for 14 days before my sister could visit him in person. I thank God for the miracles of modern medicine but more importantly, I thank the Lord for being with him for those 14 days and every day since. Pictures of the children staving in Yemen flashed before me as I consider how we are all called to love the Little Children, all the children of the world. For the last several weeks, Oklahomans have opened their homes and their hearts to Afghans fleeing from the fall of their country as God gathers God’s children from the east and the west.

In Christ there is no east or west,
in him no south or north,
but one great fellowship of love
throughout the whole wide earth.

In Christ shall true hearts ev’rywhere
their high communion find.
His service is the golden cord
close binding humankind.

Join hands, then, people of the faith,
whate’er your race may be.
All children of the living God
are surely kin to me.

In Christ now meet both east and west,
in him meet south and north.
All Christly souls are joined as one
throughout the whole wide earth.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for the songs of my youth and the love you shared with all who sang them. Let them continue to guide us in our love. Amen.

* https://childbiblesongs.com/song-30-jesus-loves-the-little-children.shtml See at **https://hymnary.org/text/ive_seen_the_lightning_flashing

***https://hymnary.org/text/in_christ_there_is_no_east_or_west_oxenh

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 of Faith

Christmastide

January 2, 2022

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

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

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.”‘) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. John 1:10-18

We are a world, nation, state, city, and home caught on the cusp of being the people God created us to be or not. We are caught in the terrible twos of spiritual maturation. How we respond will carve our future. The terrible twos in the study of human maturation refers to a normal stage in a child’s development in which a toddler can regularly bounce between reliance on adults and a newly burgeoning desire for independence. The symptoms vary between children but can include frequent mood changes and temper tantrums*. In one way or another, we hear adults expressing similar frustration as we strive to transition from one form of being to one with more responsibility.

Our societal maturation follows a similar path. Jesus came to demonstrate in person the better way, the moral way, to transition into a positive world at all levels. He taught love, forgiveness, oneness, and justice, setting an example for all to follow as parents try to help their children develop. I guess his faith’s terrible twos came in the desert when the devil tried to distract him with wealth and power, and he withstood those temptations to usher in the movement toward a world and all that is in it that is ruled by love**.

Prayer: God, forgive us when we give up on growing in Spirit and truth. Grant us the peace of your love to help us through the difficult times caused by the world’s distractions. Amen.

*https://www.verywellfamily.com/terrible-twos-and-your-toddler-2634394#:~:text=The%20%22terrible%20twos%22%20refers%20to,mood%20changes%20and%20temper%20tantrums.

**Luke 4:1-13

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.

The Word

Christmastide

January 1, 2022

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

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. –John 1:1-9

In my college Spanish course, my class was given the assignment to write a poem in Spanish. I was barely adequate at Spanish. I could read it but never was good at understanding it when spoken to me. I did fancy myself as a bit of a poet, so the assignment was, I thought, perfectly designed for me. I wrote my poem in English and very carefully translated it into Spanish. The professor collected our poems and then handed them back randomly to members of the class and asked us to translate them back into English.  The poem I wrote was full of allegory and loaded with deeper meaning. The poor guy who got my poem did not get far in translating it much less understanding it. The words he chose were correct, their application made little sense. The poem I was assigned was simple and straightforward. Even I could translate its meaning even if I could not make it rhyme. I recall that experience when I try to make sense of various parts of the Bible where deeper meanings are harder to discern. John writes beautifully but I am glad I did not have to translate his work into English for all to understand.

What are we to make of “the Word” in the above scripture? It is derived from the Greek word légō and it is complicated:

3056 lógos (from 3004 /légō, “speaking to a conclusion”) – a word, being the expression of a thought; a saying. 3056 /lógos (“word”) is preeminently used of Christ (Jn 1:1), expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit*.

The Word made flesh is the coming of the Christ as Jesus to express the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit. I take that to mean that Jesus came to demonstrate in person God’s love and plan for God’s creation. It is rather like watching a YouTube demonstration rather than simply reading the instructions that came with a new piece of equipment. And I pray that God gets a laugh out of that analogy rather than considering it blasphemy.

John, I think, was also saying that our history of God, from the beginning of time, has been filtered through the thoughts and circumstances of the people who wrote it. That makes it no less true or false; it just colors it in the shades of the writer. Admittedly, our history of Jesus and his actions come to us through the filters of others. Thus, we must not only study the whole wealth of information about Jesus that is available, but we must also seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in understanding what we read.

Prayer: God, open our hearts and mind to knowing you more nearly as we strive to serve you. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/3056.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.