Tag Archives: Loving Like Jesus

God’s Tent

Ordinary Time

January 18, 2023

Scripture Reading: Psalm 27:1, 4-9

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
   whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
   of whom shall I be afraid?

One thing I asked of the Lord,
   that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord
   all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord,
   and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter
   in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
   he will set me high on a rock. –Psalm 27:1, 4-5

I needed this scripture this morning. It is a soothing balm in a world that seems destined to destroy itself as unbelievable weather events keep occurring. Where politics is being ruled by varied issues that have nothing to do with the Common Good distracting us from the real issues that need to be addressed.  Church has been caught up in the distraction.

In 1937 — the year the Gallup poll began — seven out of 10 Americans attended church. In 2020 — before the pandemic — only 47 percent of Americans belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, according to the survey. It’s been trending downward since 2000*. 

I used the word church above rather than faith because the word church brings to mind a building. I am not suggesting we element buildings of worship.  I am struck by the words in the above scripture saying that God will conceal us under the cover of God’s tent. Does our living our faith reflect what God expects of us?

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the balm of your Psalmist. Let them lead us back to the shelter of your love. Help us reflect your love in our service to you. Amen.

*See at https://www.npr.org/2022/12/10/1141010320/as-attendance-dips-churches-change-to-stay-relevant-for-a-new-wave-of-worshipper#:~:text=In%201937%20%E2%80%94%20the%20year%20the,been%20trending%20downward%20since%202000.

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 Great Light

Ordinary Time

January 16, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Isaiah 9:1-4
But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
The people who walked in darkness
   have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
   on them light has shined.
You have multiplied the nation,
   you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
   as with joy at the harvest,
   as people exult when dividing plunder.
For the yoke of their burden,
   and the bar across their shoulders,
   the rod of their oppressor,
   you have broken as on the day of Midian.

On a personal note, it has been a dark week. Monday morning, I received a call that one of my best friends through all 12 years of public school had died. Her obituary described well what a wonderful servant she was for doing her part to meet the needs of all. That evening I learned that a friend had died suddenly and unexpectedly who, by any measure, was one of the best legal advocates for all disadvantaged people but particularly immigrants in Oklahoma City.

This is also the week that newly elected leaders take their place in trying to find common ground for the Common Good when both at the federal level and the state level, some seem dedicated only to keeping the government in turmoil resulting in nothing getting done about very serious issues.

We, indeed, have seen a great light in the coming of Christ. Our great challenge is following that light. I fear we who call ourselves Christian have been caught up in the artificial lights of the world, causing us to lose sight of the light of Christ. Now is the time to rekindle the light of Christ, examine our lives to see if we are following his ways, and reignite his vision through our service and love.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in examining ourselves to discern where we may have slipped away from fulfilling your vision. Restore us to our mission. 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.

Shining a Light on Love

Ordinary Time

January 10, 2023

Scripture Reading:  

And now the Lord says,
   who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
   and that Israel might be gathered to him,
or I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
   and my God has become my strength—
he says,
‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
   to raise up the tribes of Jacob
   and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
   that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’ –Isaiah 49:5-6

The NIV version of this scripture uses the word gentiles instead of nations in that last sentence. The Hebrew word goy can mean either one*. What is interesting about the choice of definitions is the ambiance, the surrounding atmosphere of a word that travels with it wherever it goes. When I hear gentile, I think of non-Jewish people, particularly the ones to whom Paul was sent to take the message of Christ. When I hear nations, I think of geographically demarked places, including all the people that live there. Differentiating ambiance is one of the hardest tasks in learning a new language.

Regardless of which word of these two, gentiles or nations, we choose to use, we are called to be a light to all people, even those we have been carefully taught to place beneath ourselves or even hate. The simple word race carries differing connotations. It can mean for two or more people to run as fast as they can and see who can reach a targeted place first. Or it was used to classify humans based on various features like skin color. The shame is that the designation of people by race also envisioned a contest to see who wins and who losses. I doubt if the word selection was made for that reason, but the results have scarred our world for almost 300 years.

Prayer: Lord, it is hard to move from the ways we have been taught. Turn your light on us to help us rid ourselves of incorrect impressions, and to take the time and invest the energy to see others as children you created and love so that we can be a conduit of your light to all people. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1471.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.

A New Song

Advent

December 21, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 98
O sing to the Lord a new song,
   for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
   have gained him victory.
The Lord has made known his victory;
   he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
   to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
   the victory of our God. –Psalm 98:1-3

Do you remember the first time you heard special songs that remained with you forevermore? The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music comes to mind for me. I think I loved Near to the Heart of God when I was born; just hearing it brings the peace and comfort of God’s presence to my heart. Silent Night has a similar impact.

All the challenges our world has faced over the past few years and still faces today call out for us to find a new song to address all the new ways of being with which we must deal. We have buried our heads in the sand too long on so many things like climate change, racism, and all the other isms that divide us even anti-Semitism is rearing its ugly head again; mass shootings; and drug abuse. All are often the result of an overabundance of greed.

As we sing the songs of Christmas this week, let us own them as guidance for our living throughout the rest of the year. Celebrating the gift of the Christ child, let us intentionally make life changes modeled by Christ in his sojourn on earth.

There is a place of quiet rest,
near to the heart of God,
a place where sin cannot molest,
near to the heart of God.

Refrain:
O Jesus, blest Redeemer,
sent from the heart of God,
hold us, who wait before thee,
near to the heart of God*.

Prayer:  Lord, write on our hearts the new song you wish us to hear and sing in 2023. Amen.

*First verse an refrain of the hymn Near to the Heart of God by Cleland Boyd McAfee see at https://hymnary.org/text/there_is_a_place_of_quiet_rest?extended=true#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.

Peace on Earth

Advent

December 19, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Isaiah 52:7-10
How beautiful upon the mountains
   are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
   who announces salvation,
   who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
   together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
   the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
   you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
   he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
   before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
   the salvation of our God.

Peace and salvation are both things we long for today as Ukraine is being bombed unmercifully, but also as mass shootings are becoming the norm in the USA. The solution exists. We need as a society to turn to live in God’s love one with the other.

One of the most important messages of the coming of the Christ Child is the vision of peace on earth and goodwill to men.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,

   and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’.’ Luke 2:8-14

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for coming to dwell among us and showing us the way to peace on 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.

Growing in Faith

Advent

December 15, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Romans 1:1-7

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

While Jesus came to live among us understanding humanity with all its potential to do good or evil, Paul is a role model of growing into the life Jesus Christ invites us to join. The letters he left us document his growth in faith, including his frustrations, failures, and friends with whom he shares his ministry. We, too, grow in faith learning from our mistakes and recovering from events beyond our control. He always, always cast his lot with God that is the message we must take from Paul.

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.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”*

Prayer: During this Advent season, help us remember that you are not dead and you are always awake to our voices. Amen.

*Third and fourth verses from the Hymn I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day by Henry W. Longfellow see at https://hymnary.org/text/i_heard_the_bells_on_christmas_day

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.

Tenting with God

Advent

December 12, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Isaiah 7:10-16
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.

The Hebrew Bible is filled with references to the coming of Immanuel in human form, which means God with Us. God is always with us, but sometimes, we must be reminded of God’s presence. I am not much of a social media person. I enjoy seeing reports and pictures of the adventures of my family and friends and reading pithy statements that go to the heart of living our love. I also like quirky cartoons and the adventures of pets. I could make a much longer list of the things I ignore. One thing I have noticed recently is the quest for stability in a fractured world.

While Christmas is said to be full of hope, peace, love, and joy, for some reason, it is also the source of great anxiety, depression, and a sense of loss. Some of these feelings are easy to identify, for example, losing a loved one. In other instances, our reactions are harder to understand and may take some self-examination. While the world invests much energy in celebration during this time, the story of Advent is more solemn. We recognize the need for hope, peace, love, and joy in our lives, which seem to be missing in large measure. We recall the gift of Immanuel, God with us, in the birth of a tiny baby, and we look forward to the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God when, as the book of Revelation 21:3 tells us, God will tabernacle with us, in other words, pitch God’s tent among us. Our job is to address the world’s needs so that when Christ returns to earth, he can celebrate Sabbath with us when he arrives because we, with the Spirit’s help, have finished our work toward being that beloved community.

Prayer: Lord, grant us your peace and joy as we live in hope while perfecting our ability to love as you 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.

Loving Like God

Advent

December 11, 2022

Scripture Reading: Matthew 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
   and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

What is it like to be human? The great creator God apparently wanted to experience being a human to understand this being that God created. Even though the Creator modeled humans after God’s own image, humans were also endowed with other characteristics which God wanted to understand better. Thus, God came to be with humans in human form from the womb forward; God—incarnate Jesus Christ.

Matthew tells us that Jesus’s first challenge was going into the wilderness to face the world’s temptations* before he began his ministry. Surely, that was a powerful experience for the Creator as a human. God is not only with us. God understands what we are going through because of God’s sojourn on earth. Building a firm, lasting relationship with God is the primary key to our growth in wisdom and in truth as we strive to partner with God in actualizing the Kingdom of God by our choice in the world today. Love is not love if it is not by our choice.

Prayer: Lord, enable us to choose to love ourselves as you love us so that we can love one another as you love all your creation. Amen.

*See Matthew 4:1-11

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.

Defining Sin

Advent

December 10, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Matthew 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
   and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus*.

The one named Jesus will save his people from their sins. Jesus is the Greek translation of Joshua—Yahweh saves. Christ is a title that means The Anointed One.

Iēsoús – Jesus, the transliteration of the Hebrew term, 3091 /Lṓt (“Yehoshua”/Jehoshua, contracted to “Joshua”) which means “Yahweh saves” (or “Yahweh is salvation”).

“Jesus Christ” is properly “Jesus the Christ.” “Jesus” (2424 /Iēsoús) is His human name, as the incarnate, eternal Son of God (Mt 1:21,25, see also Lk 1:31) – the Christ, the divine Messiah (the second Person of the holy Trinity).

[Christ (His title) means “the Anointed One” (the eternal pre-incarnate, Logos, Jn 1:1-18).]

A particularly onerous House Bill 1775 was passed and signed into law in Oklahoma during the 2022 session. Its purpose was to address public school dealing with one of the hot-button issues of our day, what to do about transgender students and other issues related to LGBTQ students. It is onerous regarding its message, but it is also onerous in its construction. Most new legislation begins with careful definitions of words that would be used in the body of the bill. There were no such definitions in this bill. The word gender and sex are peppered through it, allowing the reader to decide what it means. I can assure you that different understandings resulted. The State Department of Education, the agency responsible for developing rules to implement it, copied it as it appeared in the bill, most likely because they could not make heads or tails of what it was trying to say. At some point, a court will most likely have to make that discernment or send it back for revision.

I thought of that bill when I read the words quoted above. Jesus will save his people from their sins. The Greek word used here is  266 /hamartía (“sin, forfeiture because missing the mark”) is the brand of sin that emphasizes its self-originated (self-empowered) nature – i.e. it is not originated or empowered by God (i.e. not of faith, His Inworked persuasion, cf. Ro 14:23) **.

We are often taught that sin means missing the mark, but what we may not fully take in is that our missing the mark comes from our self-originated nature. I had a few lessons in archery as a part of the required exercise class in college. I was not good at it, but I did learn the fundamentals. The first being I did not get to define the target, the mark. God sets forth the standards of our service to God when we elect to follow Jesus Christ. Jesus defined our prime directives as loving God and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. We are not only guilty of selecting our own targets. We also often fail to measure whether the way we want others to be treated is, in the same way we would want to be treated in the same circumstances.

Prayer: Help us learn to love ourselves as you would have us love ourselves so that we know and understand the meaning of how to love our neighbors. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/2424.htm

**https://biblehub.com/greek/266.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.

God’s Grace

Advent

December 9, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Romans 1:1-7

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We celebrate the gift of the grace of God, particularly as it was demonstrated in the death and resurrection of Jesus. We, indeed, should appropriately and humbly accept God’s great gift of grace and redemption. Are we not also called to emulate the example of grace that Jesus set for us in his sojourn on earth? Does that include acts of grace?

I was surprised to learn that the translation of the Greek word “grace” basically means to lean towards.

xáris (another feminine noun from xar-, “favor, disposed to, inclined, favorable towards, leaning towards to share benefit”) – properly, grace. 5485 (xáris) is preeminently used of the Lord’s favor – freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He is “always leaning toward them”) *.

In our world today, we seem to be leaning away from others, even among those who call themselves Christian. From where do such delusions that lean us away from each other stem? Are we leaning away from God? Are we questioning our gift of grace, thus looking for love elsewhere?

Advent is a great time to refresh our faith. Lean into the scriptures of the coming of Christ; lean into the God who comes to us incarnate to help us understand God’s love as God continuously leans into us.

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
leaning on the everlasting arms;
what a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
leaning on the everlasting arms**.

Prayer: O, Lord, as you lean into us this advent season, let your love inspire us to lean our love on others. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/5485.htm

**The first verse of the hymn, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms by E. A. Hoffman see at https://hymnary.org/text/what_a_fellowship_what_a_joy_divine#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.