Tag Archives: Loving Like Jesus

Loving Like Jesus

Living in the Spirit

September 11, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 8:27-38

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that I am?’ And they answered him, ‘John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’ And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. –Mark 8:27-30

The Title Messiah*, translated into Greek as Christ, describes the God-appointed King of the End of Time, also called the Anointed One.  All the Kings of Israel were anointed, and all were very human. Therefore, the Messiah would be the ideal King to rule at the End of Time. The phrase End of Time evokes ideas of perfection attained and continuing, or the opposite everything lost, and chaos returns.

God did not create the world to fail. God cared so much about the world and the people in it that God dwelt with us in the person of Jesus, who gave his life, gifting us with grace. God did not leave us without help. The Spirit of God was sent to be with us as we strive toward being the people God created us to be. God longs to keep company with us, but we must choose to keep company with God, who is Love. God will only live in community with us in mutual Love. Loving God and one another is what we are called to perfect. Revelation 21:3 expresses God great desire to dwell with us,

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
‘See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;

When greed, lust for power, or any other sin overcomes our quest for God’s Love and loving like Jesus, we become a part of an evil empire. Such entities have attempted to rule throughout the history of God. If we continue in that quest, we will fail. Paul puts it this way, For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Prayer: God, who is Love, today let us choose Love, and when we fail to love like Jesus, guide us to wholeness. Amen.

*The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, an Illustrated Encyclopedia, Abington Press 1981

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.

Out of Control

Living in the Spirit

Living in the Spirit

September 10, 2021

Scripture Reading: James 3:1-12

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh. –James 3:5b-12

If no person can tame the tongue, then we must rely on God’s saving grace to guide our words and still the uproar within our being that allows our mouths to spew forth venom. Once hurtful words get out, they can never be erased. Often such words exponentially grow as they draw on responses, either in support or in angry opposition.

The COVID pandemic has brought out the worst in many instances when frustration has led to harm-filled shouting and placing blame while not accepting responsibility for one’s own actions. Experiencing helplessness can cause such behavior. We are never alone in any situation, good or bad. The Spirit of God is present. An old hymn, we rarely sing probably because the music is so slow and ponderous, informs our faith,

God is working this purpose out,
as year succeeds to year;
God is working this purpose out,
and the time is drawing near;
nearer and nearer draws the time,
the time that shall surely be:
when the earth shall be filled with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea*.

In times like these, we need to be reminded of God’s Love for us and continuous work to bring about God’s Kingdom. I do not believe God sends pandemics or storms or fires to punish us, but he does allow them to happen. Our negligence in caring for the earth and its people is often a direct or indirect cause of such calamity. Therefore, we would do well to work toward a better perspective of what is happening and what we need to change in our lives and society to work toward oneness in Love.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we let the world’s fears and frustrations supersede your plan for our lives. Open our hearts and minds to work with you toward gaining your purpose. Amen.

*First verse of God Is Working His Purpose Out by Arthur Campbell Ainger see at https://hymnary.org/text/god_is_working_his_purpose_out#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.

Bind Us Together

Living in the Spirit

September 9, 2021

Scripture Reading: James 3:1-12

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. –James 3:1-5a

I do not see myself as a teacher. I did teach 5th graders in Sunday School one year when I was in college that I think went well. However, I was a complete failure with 5-year-olds when I was asked to teach another Sunday School class. While on paper, I may be listed as a teacher at adult Sunday school and Bible study, I identify myself as a facilitator. Many in these groups are older, more studied, and wiser than I am. I make coffee, order materials, raise questions to keep the discussion going, and I have learned a lot over the years through these processes. I do often pray, guard my tongue, O Lord. Depending on the translation, there are at least 100 verses in the Bible that give this instruction. Some use the word “mouth” rather than “tongue.” I have also learned through experience that it is essential to gauge one’s timing when a comment might be apt but not appropriate at the moment. I am still working on that.

In times like these, dialogue among both people we know, and strangers is vital to address our world’s divisiveness. We are all afraid of the COVID virus, whether we want to admit it or not. There is much uncertainty regarding ending the war in Afghanistan. Many are too busy trying to survive while rebuilding following a significant storm and fires. What does the future hold? Are we now ready to address climate change? Can we give peace a chance in a world full of injustice and terrorists? What difference can I make toward addressing such complex issues?

God created us with brains and hearts and gifted each person with skills and talents. God created us to work together as one. The only way we can do that is to meet one another with respect and seek common ground for the common good, remembering Matthew 18:20, For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’

Prayer:

BIND US TOGETHER, Lord, Bind us together
With cords that cannot be broken.
Bind us together, Lord,
Bind us together,
Bind us together with love*. Amen.

Refrain from song Bind us Together by Bob Gillman, see at https://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/bind-us-together-bob-gillman/

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.

Living Love

Living in the Spirit

Living in the Spirit

September 7, 2021

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.

The Lord God helps me;
   therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
   and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
   he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
   Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
   Let them confront me.
It is the Lord God who helps me;
   who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;

   the moth will eat them up.

Last week the lectionary dealt with listening but not hearing. Today Isaiah tells us that The Lord God has opened my ear,  and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backwards. He suggests that we must want to hear God even when we fear we will not like what God says. Our relationship with God is the most important relationship we have. It should define and drive all other bonds with family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and strangers. Romans 8:31 states it this way, What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? That statement came from Paul, who was beaten, imprisoned, and eventually executed for his faith.

Christ-followers have heard the most precious truth that God loves us just as we are and is with us every step of our way as we grow in our ability to love like Jesus. It is not a secret for us to keep; it is the simple solution to the complex problems in which we find ourselves today, and it has been there from the beginning of time. We can share this message to others in words like these, but they make a much more significant impact when we share God’s Love through our deeds.

Prayer: Following your example, Lord, empower our love in service to oneness in our world. 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.

Divided We Fall

Living in the Spirit

September 6, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Proverbs 1:20-33
Wisdom cries out in the street;
   in the squares she raises her voice.
At the busiest corner she cries out;
   at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
‘How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
   and fools hate knowledge?
Give heed to my reproof;
I will pour out my thoughts to you;
   I will make my words known to you.
Because I have called and you refused,
   have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,
and because you have ignored all my counsel
   and would have none of my reproof,

I also will laugh at your calamity;
   I will mock when panic strikes you,
when panic strikes you like a storm,
   and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
   when distress and anguish come upon you. –Proverbs 1:20-27

There is something very chilling in our country about the division surrounding precautions to reduce the spread of a deadly virus. There seems to be an emptiness in people’s lives that they are trying to fill by demanding rights that are not in their best interest.  Wearing masks has nothing to do with the type or quality of education. It has to do with health and safety. If the city notified a school that the water in their system was contaminated with e coli, everything possible would be done to assure that children did not contact the water. Schools must meet the standards for fire safety and are routinely inspected to ensure that they comply. Strick health and safety requirements guide the preparation of food. So why is protecting children and school staff from a virus different?

Our politics have become our gods. While we try to weave the one true God into the framework of our politics, we are failing. I do not think the Lord appreciates being used as a pawn for politicians to garner more support, and I am sure we will account for it at some point.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for drifting so far afield from your plan for us that we claim our ways are your ways. Turn us around and show us how to love our way out of this quagmire. 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.

Listen but Do Not Hear

Living in the Spirit

September 5, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Mark 7:24-37

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.‘ –Mark 7:31-37

Hearing or otherwise being able to take in information is essential for personal wellbeing and community engagement. I understand why the witnesses were so impressed with Jesus’ returning the deaf man’s hearing. The story may have an even deeper meaning. Jesus came to us to open our ears of faith to hear and follow his message, God’s message.

Phrases like he has ears but does not hear, appear multiple times in the Bible. For example, Isaiah 6:9, And he said, ‘Go and say to this people:
“Keep listening, but do not comprehend;
keep looking, but do not understand.”

The speaker, often a prophet, says, “You are not listening to God’s messages” and thus are not following God’s ways. Jesus came to open our spiritual ears so that we can receive and act on God’s messages.

We believe what we want to think, hear what we want to hear, and do what we want to do, whether it has anything to do with our relationship with God or not. We identify the idols that fit our desires and commit ourselves to them completely. Social media seems to be in a race to see who can distract the most people. That is not social media’s fault. It is our fault when we seek wholeness in all the wrong places.

These days of being isolated from much of the world have had many negative impacts, but we can turn that around by using this time to examine ourselves with God’s help. What is God calling me to do? Where am I investing my talents and gifts? Are the activities I do drawing me closer to loving like Jesus or driving me away from God? Finally, what am I going to do about any revelations I hear?

Prayer: O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee.
I give thee back the life I owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be*.  Amen.

*First verse of O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go by George Matheson Gohttps://hymnary.org/text/o_love_that_wilt_not_let_me_go

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.

Love of Neighbor

Living in the Spirit

September 2, 2021

Scripture Reading: James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

You do well if you really fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For the one who said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’, also said, ‘You shall not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgement will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

The entire scripture recommended by the lectionary for this Sunday is quoted above. It is full of practical wisdom for those of us who strive to serve God. Loving our neighbor as we love ourselves has no limitations or boundaries. To commit adultery is equal to murder and so forth. I have noted that we humans tend to create hierarchies of sin. As a child of the late 1940s and 1950s, I grew up in a culture that deemed divorce a significant sin. Adultery was a capital offense in Hebrew law. Both are commonly accepted in our society.  Lying or otherwise misrepresenting facts may get one fact-checked. Still, we seem to accept that we should not believe anything we read or hear unless it agrees with our political opinions. We are fascinated with wealth and denigrate poor people, identifying them as lazy or unable to handle money. I worked at minimum wage jobs in high school and college and thus can attest to the rigor and, at times, the humiliation of being a waitress and the challenges of being a nurse’s aide. When I held those jobs, the minimum wage was at or slightly above the poverty level. The federal minimum wage now is below the poverty level for one person, much less for a family. And yes, it is the rich who oppress people still.

Prayer: Lord, tune us to be your instruments of love, not those of the world. 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.

People First

Living in the Spirit

August 30, 2021

Scripture Reading:

Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
   and favor is better than silver or gold.
The rich and the poor have this in common:
   the Lord is the maker of them all.
Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity,
   and the rod of anger will fail.
Those who are generous are blessed,
   for they share their bread with the poor.
Do not rob the poor because they are poor,
   or crush the afflicted at the gate;
for the Lord pleads their cause
   and despoils of life those who despoil them.

These pithy sayings from Proverbs add to saying that people are more important than money, and injustice leads to calamity. My reading came to a halt as I read, do not crush the afflicted at the gate. My brain flashed back to the explosion at the Abbey Gate, where masses of people fearing for their future were crowded together trying to enter the Kabul Airport. I was struck by the name Abbey and wondered why it was the name given the gate. An abbey is a monastery or church because it is a monastery ruled by an abbot or a convent ruled by an abbess—a holy place. There is little good that came out of the USA’s sojourn in Afghanistan. Still, the one good thing I have observed in tracking this tragedy is the USA soldiers’ commitment to saving the Afghans who supported their work while serving in that country. They call them brothers.

I am not a person who dwells on regret. I am sure there will be many books that will tell us what we did wrong. I tend to look to the future and wonder what we can do for the Afghans and all people in our world to correct the injustices that keep them from being the people God created them to be. War is not a viable solution. Injustice is most closely aligned with the economy. Perhaps we need to pay more attention to the first two sentences in the above scripture.

Prayer: Lord, show us the better ways to lift people out of injustice and into the fulness of your love and life. 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.

Proactive Love

Living in the Spirit

August 28, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the g tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
“This people honors me with their lips,
   but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
   teaching human precepts as doctrines.”
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’ –Mark 7:1-8

The experts recommend washing hands and using hand sanitizer as a response to the COVID pandemic. The use of social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand washing has proved to be a boon in preventing other contagious diseases. I have bad sinuses, and sometime in March, when they are at their worst responding to allergens, I had few problems at all. I attributed that to the COVID precautions and will be wearing my masks this fall to protect from allergens. Many of the religious rituals like hand washing became standard practice probably because observant people recognized that disease was reduced when hands were washed. And that was a good thing. I have always thought the rules about not eating pork grew out of recognizing that eating pork killed people. We now know that it was not the pork but the worms, Trichinosis, inhabiting the pigs that were the deadly culprit. Changing cooking methods killed the worms and made pork safer to eat.

When we read this, most of us think we should wash our hands before we handle food. That is not Jesus’ point. Jesus wants us to be healthy but being precautious about germs or worms is not a substitute for the commandment of God. Jesus told us the overriding commandment of all is loving God and loving one’s neighbor as oneself. Indeed, one way we can love our neighbors is not to expose them to deadly diseases. God expects more out of us than obeying healthy habits or not, especially when it involves protecting our neighbors and ourselves from harm’s way.

Prayer: Lord, help us make your priorities our priorities. 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.

The Search for Wholeness

Living in the Spirit

August 24, 2021

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9

So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?

But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children—

I wonder if Moses ever dreamed that the laws he introduced to the Israelites could be interpreted in many ways. Indeed, progress over time has required a new understanding of the fundamentals of original rules. I remember reading somewhere, sorry I cannot document it, that in the strictest interpretation of work on the Sabbath, producing light and heat before electricity constituted work and therefore could not be done on the Sabbath. When electricity became available, it was necessary to determine if flipping a switch was work. Beyond progress, humans tend to bend laws to their desires and not their needs. We often do not recognize what we need because we focus so much on what we want.

Jesus came along centuries later and attempted to help us understand that ‘The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.’ (Mark 2:27–28) In our hectic world today, God is probably shocked when we take the time to withdraw from the clutter of our lives to be still and know that God is God. (See Psalm 46:10)

I just finished reading Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, the story of how Abraham Lincoln dealt with his intentionally selected diverse cabinet. It is an excellent book, by the way. I read it at an interesting time in our history where every move of the president and other leaders is scrutinized, criticized, and polled. The same thing was happening during the Civil War. The only difference was it took longer to spread the news via printed newspapers and telegraphed information. Truth than as now was bent to support differing political advantage.

The Deuteronomic warning above is apt: to take care and watch yourselves closely so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life. Jesus set as the foundation of the law to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves as the overriding rules.  

We need to remember that the Pharisees who led the charge against Jesus that led to his crucifixion felt sure they acted according to the law as they perceived it. Some would respond that Jesus had to die for our sins because they were so egregious. I cannot help wondering had we followed his way from the start, would not that have ushered in the Kingdom of God right then?

Prayer: Create in us clean hearts, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us. (See Psalm 51:10) 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.