Tag Archives: Loving Like Jesus

Stumbling Block

February 25, 2020

Scripture Reading: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12

Is not this the fast that I choose:
   to loose the bonds of injustice,
   to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
   and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
   and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
   and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
   and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
   the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
   you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. –Isaiah 58:6-9

I am blessed or cursed with a gut-level need for justice. Sometimes I do not know which. I, in general, come quickly to discernment on what I deem to be just; the greater challenge is to hold that which I deem to be just up to the scrutiny of what Christ defines as just. For example, we are all bigots in one way or another including me and that is a boulder-sized stumbling block to justice. A woman was shown on the news following the Iowa caucus trying to recall her vote for Pete Buttigieg when she discovered after she voted that he was gay. If she had determined that he was the best person for the job of president, why would his sexual preference matter? My mother would have call that cutting off your nose to spite your face.

In my career I routinely watched men with less experience and education than I promoted over me, many politically supported. Some I thought were good at their jobs; some were not. Most were dependent on female staff, paid less, to teach them their job. I also noted a few of those men recognizing the discrimination and doing what they could to address it. At one point I was assigned the task of completing a study to determine if there was discrimination in our workplace against women. Even I was shocked when I discovered that the woman who basically oversaw all the work of the agency made $20,000 a year less than the lowest paid male in her job class. She had worked longer than most of them and I do not think anyone questioned her being the right person for the job.

The Hebrew Bible is filled with the wisdom of the prophets as in Isaiah quoted above telling us that we bring about our own destruction by not practicing God’s justice. We the people need to keep that in mind as we consider who we chose to lead us.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see more clearly your justice and align our view of justice with yours. 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 People to Life

Epiphany

February 22, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 17:1-9
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’ And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, ‘Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’

If you had been a first century citizen of what was once know as Israel then split in two, how do you think you would have responded to Jesus? Would you have identified him as a good man, best friend, great teacher, positive example, person with special powers, healer, wonderful storyteller, excellent leader, inspired prophet? At some point would you have wondered could this be the One, the Promised One, the Messiah? At what point might you have considered him God incarnate or Son of God? I wonder if Peter, James, and John confronted that question at what is now called the Transfiguration described in the above scripture.

I remember a movie about the beginning of the civil rights movement in the USA during the late fifties that told the story of a white middle-class woman who hired a black woman as her housekeeper. At first, she respected the housekeeper’s work and became close to her while remaining totally blind to the discrimination that was going on in her town. Finally, there was a bus boycott that resulted in her housekeeper walking a long distance every day to come to work. The white woman drove by her housekeeper walking home one evening and stopped to see why she was walking. The white woman offered the housekeeper a ride and as she drove her to her home the white woman’s eyes began to become opened to the realities of the housekeeper’s lives.  The story builds to a scene some time later when the white woman is arrives at a confrontation between white people on one side and black people on the other that was angry and getting out of hand. She had never taken a public stand on the issue before but after watching the hatred and fear she crossed the imaginary line and separated the two groups and stood with her housekeeper.

As followers of Jesus Christ we are called to cross the line out of hate and fear and start creating a world ruled by love as children of God.

Prayer: Lord, strengthen us for our journey of loving people to 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.

Transcending Hate

Epiphany

February 9, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:13-20

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. –Matthew 5:17-20

I was stunned when I heard President Trump on the news recently saying that he disagreed with the Pastor who spoke before the President at the National Prayer breakfast when the Pastor said that we should love our enemies. I realize that the President may not know that the Pastor was quoting Jesus, but that teaching, commandment to some of us, appears in several scriptures.

If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the LORD will reward you. (Proverbs 25:21-22)

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (Matthew 5:44)

In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12)

bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:28)

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7)

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. (Romans 12:14-21)

I struggled as I thought about even the possibility of disagreeing with Jesus. If I commit to be a follower of Jesus, does that give me the right to pick and choose which of his teachings I will follow?  Of course, we all do that at one time or another with portions of the Hebrew bible, like wearing clothing made from two different fabrics, and even as we study the New Testament books other than the gospels. Some even question the source of parts of the gospels. My final analysis is that Jesus gave us two commandments that he identified as overriding all others, Loving God and Loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. (Mark 12:30-31) I shorthand those commandments by holding decision I must make up to the question, “Does what I think and what I do pass the test of love?” I like M. Scott Peck’s definition of love which is: The will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth*. There is only one trajectory in love and that is always targeted at creating more love.

Prayer: God who is Love, help us love ourselves enough to transcend hate and to love our enemies. Amen.

*The Road Less Traveled, Peck, 1978/1992, p85

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 Blessing

Epiphany

February 2, 2020

Scripture Reading
Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The word translated blessed in the above scripture means when God extends His benefits*.  Jesus creates a laundry list of actions states of being about which God intervenes with God’s benefits. Is Jesus providing us with guidance on how we might provide our benefits to others? He uses examples of a broad array of people and the situations in which they my find themselves. Most are rather serious, and many are situation that are uncomfortable for us or even boring. Is our natural inclination to believe that, for example, the wealthy or attractive or talented are the blessed? That those are the ones with whom we want to interface and be like.

The funny thing is that most of us have experience each of these situations in our lives. Jesus, I think, is saying loving one another includes both the good times and the bad. We must learn and practice empathy rather than envy. We must do justice rather than turn a blind eye to injustice.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to love deeply and be blessings to all around us. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/3107.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.

Living Christ’s Love

Epiphany

January 30, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 1:18-31

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
   and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. –1 Corinthians 1:18-25

One of the major problems for humans is not what we know but recognizing what we do not know. We put a lot of faith in what we think we know, only to find out later that somethings we were taught just were not ever true or are no longer true.  That does not mean we should avoid seeking knowledge. It does mean that the quest for knowledge never ends.

We also are very good at filtering knowledge to gain the answers that we want to hear.  Following someone who was crucified for his teachings is more than a little counterintuitive unless we open our hearts and minds to the love behind the sacrifice.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for loving us so much that you were willing to die on the cross. We celebrate the wonder of your resurrection and hear your call to share your love with the whole world. Empower us to live your love. Amen.

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

Faith

Epiphany

January 24, 2020

Scripture Reading:
1 Corinthians 1:10-18

What I mean is that each of you says, ‘I belong to Paul’, or ‘I belong to Apollos’, or ‘I belong to Cephas’, or ‘I belong to Christ.’ Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. –I Corinthians 1:12-18.

I think I would be a Jesus follower without faith. My sense of His way of being is very close to my philosophies of living. Granted, my philosophies were shaped by indoctrination in the stories of his life from my birth. I still think if I stumbled onto him as an adult, his ways would be appealing to me. I notice when I am searching for the illustrations I use with these devotions; I am often drawn to pictures that contain quotes of Mother Teresa or someone named Rumi. I finally looked him up and found that he was a 13th-century Persian poet and Islamic scholar of whom I had never heard. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is another person with who I wished I could have shared a chat and a cup of coffee.

When Paul writes about the cross is foolishness, he is inviting us to take that faith step from fan to disciple, from working to be a good person who practices mercy and justice to giving our lives to help others find the joy and love of God through Jesus Christ. The positive influence of others enhances our lives. The power of God shared through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ saves our lives for a higher calling.

Prayer: Lord, lift me up, and let me stand
By faith on Canaan’s tableland;
A higher plane than I have found,
  Lord, plant my feet on higher ground*. Amen.

*Chorus of I’m pressing on the upward way by Johnson Oatman Jr.  See at https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/396

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.

Role Model

Epiphany

January 11, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 3:13-17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

When I read this scripture for today, my mind flashed back to a recent Facebook post I received which simply displayed several of Mother Teresa’s famous saying and I thought about just quoting them here and be done. A link to a website that lists many of them is below*. Mother Teresa was a great role model in word and in deed following in the steps of Jesus who saw the need to be baptized to set an example for all. God knows our hearts, so I do not think God needs us to be baptized to testify to our acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty in our life and our faithful commitment to Jesus Christ as our roll model. We are the ones who need to outwardly demonstrate the inward changes in our lives brought about by our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

We all probably need to be sent back to school routinely to learn the changes being made in grammar since we were in grade school. I routinely run a grammar checker and am surprised at times what it identifies as wrong or not preferred. I was pleased to see that it is now okay to split infinities and end a sentence with a preposition, but I  see nothing wrong with the way I use what the checker defines as passive voice but apparently is on longer the preferred choice for writing.

Time and understanding cultural changes alter the way we demonstrate our love for our neighbors. We now attend classes that teach us proper engagement with others in our diverse society of genders and faiths and races/ethnicities and disabilities. The call to love our neighbors as ourselves does not change. We rarely know the circumstances of life that impact the ways another person understands our behavior toward them. A firm handshake can bring a person with arthritis in their hands to tears. A pat on the back of an adult who has been abused can instantly flash bad memories through their minds. Simple questions can ease the confusion. “My I shake your hand?” “What do you prefer to be called?” “I’m a hugger may I hug you?”

Prayer: Thank you Lord for being a role model of how to love God and love one another as we outwardly display our inward quest to be a role model like you even in a world that is constantly changing. Amen.

*https://www.goalcast.com/2017/04/10/top-20-most-inspiring-mother-teresa-quotes/

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.

Bruised Reeds

Epiphany

January 6, 2020

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
   my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
   he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
   or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
   and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
   he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be crushed
   until he has established justice in the earth;
   and the coastlands wait for his teaching. –Isaiah 42:1-4

Have you ever felt like a bruised reed or a dimly burning wick? My guess is we all have at one time or another. Isaiah is saying to us in the above scripture that God is with us and seeking justice for us even when we are at our lowest. We must never give up on God as God never gives up on us.

I must confess I have not known the pain of starvation or worst watching my child die and being utterly unable to do anything about it. I have not had to escape terrorist or take shelter from missiles being dropped on my village. Some reeds are bruised more deeply than others. I know just enough about injustice to gain a tiny window into what oppression is. I have seen just enough to know that I must be a part of seeking justice for those whose little lights of hope are being snuffed out around the world and down the street from me. God calls us all to do justice.

Prayer: Lord, open my justice window wider so that I can see how I can work toward justice and encourage others to seek justice. Amen.

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

Seeing God in Everyone

Christmastide

January 5, 2020

Scripture Reading:
John 1:10-18

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 1:14-18

What is it like to be human? Is that what God wondered when God determined to become flesh and live among us? Does the infinite gain a better understand of the finite by experiencing being finite? Were Jesus’ actions and teachings designed to help humans gain a better grasp of the infinite? Was grace the result of Jesus’ experience as a human?

We live in a world of humans that we neither understand or strive to know and wonder why war and violence is so common. The Word’s becoming flesh and living among us was God’s modeling for us the need to work at understanding others and helping them understand us. Our mission of understanding starts with the concept that all humans are created in the image of God and that we are all siblings of Christ.

I mourn the unease between our country and Turkey today more than I would have had I never spent a wonderful ten days touring that country four years ago. I was particularly interested in seeing the various places, many of them ruins now, where Paul worked. Part of the tour included chances to meet and eat with local citizens. By coincidence my birthday occurred during this trip and on that day at one of the friendly visits out popped a birthday cake, of course prearranged by the tour company, but still enjoyed by all. Not only did I get to know Turks better but more than half of the people on the tour were from other countries primarily Australia, China, and South African.

Prayer:
1 God of grace and God of glory,
on your people pour your power;
crown your ancient church’s story,
bring its bud to glorious flower.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
for the facing of this hour,
for the facing of this hour.

2 Lo! the hosts of evil round us
scorn the Christ, assail his ways!
From the fears that long have bound us
free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage
for the living of these days,
for the living of these days.

3 Cure your children’s warring madness;
bend our pride to your control;
shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
lest we miss your kingdom’s goal,
lest we miss your kingdom’s goal.

4 Save us from weak resignation
to the evils we deplore;
let the gift of your salvation
be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
serving you whom we adore,
serving you whom we adore. 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.

Have we lost our way?

Christmastide

January 4, 2020

Scripture Reading:
John 1:10-18

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. –John 1:10-13

In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace* is the headline to the recent Pew Research Center Study report showing that the number of adults identifying as Christian in the USA fell from 78% in 2007 to 65% in 2018/19 with an increase in unaffiliated adults. I do not blame people for leaving, I find myself not wanted to be identified with some of the ideas being set forth as Christian these days. The speakers seem to be as interested in greed and lust for power as the religious leaders and their followers were in Amos’ time. I heard an interview on the PBS Nightly News with an evangelical faith leader who said his people stood for the basic American rights that all people had a right to choose how to live and believe, and in the very next sentence said his group only supported candidates who were anti-abortion. They do not see the contraction in those two sentences.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him, and we still do not today. Is it any wonder that particularly our younger adults are searching for something more meaningful to them? My sense of millennials is that they are very opened to a spiritual life grounded in love, community, and wanting the best for all people. Is that not what Jesus was all about? Is that not what we are called to foster in the name of our risen Lord?

My understanding is that God wants us to love God by choice. God wants us to love one another by choice. Jesus dealt with the world in community and set the example for us to deal with our world together as we grapple to love God and love one another. When Christ finds two or more gathered in his name, he promises to be with them**. The mystery of love is tied to the synergy of our developing relationship with God that then grows more love.

Prayer: God forgive us when we get so caught up in defining you we forget to let you define us. Amen.

*https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/

**Matthew 18:20

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.