Tag Archives: Loving Like Jesus

Rachel Weeping for her Children

Christmastide

December 29, 2019

Scripture Reading: Matthew 2:13-23

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
‘A voice was heard in Ramah,
   wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
   she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’ –Matthew 2:16-18

I cannot imagine feeling so desperate to save my children’s lives that I would flee my homeland in search of the promise of a better, more welcoming place. Some have told me I should not be so concerned about the children being held at the border between Mexico and the USA because they are being feed and have a place to stay. It is better than what they left. Since even that is questionable, I have lost my glorified image of American as the place of “Give me your tired, your poor,/ Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”* written on the Statue of Liberty. We seem to live in a world where our leaders will do whatever it takes to keep their stranglehold on power and money without regard to who might get hurt in the process.

How did we get to this point? Did the events of 9/11 frighten us so much we trust no one? Or are we so afraid of not being the dominant skin tone, we try to control who comes and goes by the hue of their skin? Were not all people created in the image of God? Why do humans seem to have a need to establish hierarchies of worth among the world’s people?

There are no borders in the kingdom of God. God loves and calls good God’s entire creation. Our assignment is to nurture and protect it. We are not to misuse and abuse it to our selfish ends.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we misuse and abuse the earth an all its inhabitants. Show us your better way. Amen.

*From The New Colossus poem by Emma Lazarus see at https://www.nps.gov/stli/learn/historyculture/colossus.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.

Wanting to be a Blessing

Advent

December 14, 2019

Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:2-11

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.’ –Matthew 11:2-6

Even in retirement, I can still be surprised by the Bible. I do not know how many times I have read the above scripture, several for sure. Yet, I do not remember reading, And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me. I wonder if God saves these little surprises for the exact time I need them. I cannot imagine being offended by sweet, lovable, gentle, kind Jesus. My childhood picture of Jesus still stands the test of time. The Jesus who challenges faith leaders to do the right thing, the Jesus who runs the money traders out of the temple, the Jesus who kills fig trees because they do not bear fruit in the offseason, the Jesus who routinely eats with sinners and other outcasts, could be off-putting to some who benefit from such activities. He was so offensive to power that he ended up on a cross.

We live in the perilous times where might is right, where we go along to get along whether justice prevails or not.  We hope for a greater good without consideration that all good results from our dedication to doing, to the best of our abilities, good in everything.

As we strive to follow Jesus as our role model, we must, too, live lives that may not be acceptable in the mainstream of culture as we work for justice and righteousness doing so in the manner of not intended to be offensive while knowing that doing justice is often offensive to those who benefit from injustice.

Prayer: Lord, Help us be blessings to all people as we strive for your justice and your righteousness. 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.

Melding Generation

Kingdom Building

November 6, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 145:1-5,17-21

One generation shall laud your works to another,
   and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
   and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
The Lord is just in all his ways,
   and kind in all his doings.
The Lord is near to all who call on him,
   to all who call on him in truth. –Psalm 145:4-5, 17-18

I recently had separate discussions with two minister friends about the challenge of the church integrating the generations into One Body. Church’s are attempting to meld together six different identified groups of people by age that have markedly different worldviews.

  • 2000 to present: New Silent Generation or Generation Z.
  • 1980 to 2000: Millennials or Generation Y.
  • 1965 to 1979: Thirteeners or Generation X.
  • 1946 to 1964: Baby Boomers.
  • 1925 to 1945: Silent Generation.
  • 1900 to 1924: G.I. Generation*.

I must confess I had never heard of the Thirteeners until I pulled up this list to get the dates right. I have met a few of them. Apparently even the Psalmist of ancient days had to address the interworking of generational differences. The differences may not be what we think. We are now routinely seeing headlines like U.S. Kids Far Less Likely To Out-Earn Their Parents, As Inequality Grows** Not using wealth as the primary measure of wealth is probably a good thing. Not earning a living wage is a bad thing.

So, with what do we laud the next generation? Are we being called to encounter our priorities of the past and identify the things that really matter passing them on to our children and grandchildren? Are we living lives that illustrate for the next generation watching us that speak to the wonder and worth of God? Are they learning how to love God and love their neighbors as they love themselves by emulating our behavior?

Prayer:
Weave, weave, weave us together,
Weave us together in unity and love.
Weave, weave, weave us together,
Weave us together, together in love***. Amen.

*https://www.thoughtco.com/names-of-generations-1435472
**https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/09/504989751/u-s-kids-far-less-likely-to-out-earn-their-parents-as-inequality-grows
***http://dragon.sleepdeprived.ca/songbook/songs6/S6_54.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.

Loving Righteousness

Kingdom Building

October 30, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:137-144
You are righteous, O Lord,
   and your judgments are right.
You have appointed your decrees in righteousness
   and in all faithfulness.
My zeal consumes me
   because my foes forget your words.
Your promise is well tried,
   and your servant loves it.
I am small and despised,
   yet I do not forget your precepts.
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
   and your law is the truth.
Trouble and anguish have come upon me,
   but your commandments are my delight.
Your decrees are righteous forever;
   give me understanding that I may live.

What is right? What is truth? What can we learn about the acts of God from ancient documents that apply to our world today? What can we leave to our descendants that will be meaningful to their relationship with God?

I just heard a report on the morning news that fewer and fewer people identify as practicing any religion and more and more are leaving religion. I, too, cringe in disbelief when I hear things credited to God that seem alien to the God of love I was introduced to as a child. According to some, Jesus apparently does not love all the children of the world red and yellow, black and white. Just thinking about homosexual behavior must be exorcised through conversion therapy even though about six percent of our population have identified as homosexual since the beginning of time. If all were made in the image of God, people of color and homosexuals surely were too. However, heterosexual misbehavior including pedophilia and sex trafficking seems limited only by what one cannot get away with including clergy. Financial prosperity is a major indicator of one’s status with God according to others.

My faith tells me that the image of God implanted in each of our souls is the ability to love—to love God, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, to love a life partner, and to love justice for all, or as the author of the above Psalm calls it righteousness. Righteousness is about community, is always needed when two or more are gathered together, and particularly blessed when gathered together in the presence of the living God.

Prayer: Lord save us from destroying the most important legacy we have received and will leave our descendants, your abiding 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.

Scripture

Kingdom Building

October 17, 2019

Scripture Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. –2 Timothy 3:14-17

I do not think we do a very good job of ferreting out examples from scripture of things we should not be doing. Much of the Hebrew Bible consists of someone or some groups retelling of the events of Israel’s history from the beginning of time through the good times and the bad times the exile and the return to start over again chastened and humbled. Read in the context of history, both cultural and theological; we can gain from the wisdom of the experiences of our ancestors in faith. We tend to cherry-pick what fits our predetermined ideas to solidify our beliefs rather than dig deeper and see ourselves in both the bad and the good, the behaviors that separate us from God and the actions that bring us closer to God.

Introduced to the scriptures in childhood, I read the golden picture books about Moses and the burning bush, David and Goliath, and Daniel in the lion’s den. I memorized verses from the King James Version, graduated in grade school to the Revised Standard Version, and now read from several translations. I remember the great finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls and how they helped further our understanding. I think all of this was good. But does that knowledge translate into who I am today and who I am becoming as a part of the Kingdom of God?

Since the Bible records the broad spectrum of human experience, it is possible to justify just about anything with a few dissected quotes. The real test of what we learn from scriptures is, does it meet the test of Jesus’ overriding commandments to love God and to love one another? If it does not meet that test, then what aspects of what we discovered are reflected in our lives today, and how are we working to rid ourselves of those unloving actions?

Prayer: Lord, help us discern your truth through our study of the scriptures. 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 our Neighbor

Kingdom Building

October 13, 2019

Scripture Reading:
Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’

There is a lot going on in this story. For one thing, Jesus healing undesirables. In this story he healed lepers and even worse a Samaritan. Leprosy was greatly feared and believed to be contagious. Samaritans were hated.

One could wonder if the other nine lepers did not end up being healed because they did not return and thank Jesus. I do not see anything in the scriptures that indicates Jesus was a quid pro quo kind of guy. Humans certainly have the capacity to want something in return for anything they do for another. I believe that Jesus was fully human and thus fully capable of all kinds of human behavior. His way of being was just as much his choice as our ways of being are our choice. He appreciated being thanked, I am sure, but I doubt he expected or demanded it.

Jesus instructed all his disciples including me, to love are neighbors as we love ourselves. (Mark 12:31) There is nothing in this direction that even suggests you should receive anything in return from the neighbor. I was stunned when I kept seeing the fallout from Ellen Degeneres and George W. Bush visiting with each other at a baseball game. I assumed they both like baseball, silly me. They both identify as Christians and each seems to practice their faith as God guides them. I know Ellen is very generous in helping others and sharing concerns on her show as an advocate for others. Former President Bush has a well-known history of service to the people of Africa. Some wondered why George W. Bush would even talk to Ellen, I guess because she is a progressive and a homosexual; others thought the only reason Ellen would talk to former President Bush was because she might be able to get him on her show as a quid pro quo; and Ellen’s supporters thought she should not talk to the former President because he authorized the war in Iraq. Ellen said she talks to a lot of people with whom she does not totally agree; part of being president is working together with people who do not share the same ideologies. I doubt seriously if there are any two people who totally agree on anything.

Our world is caught up in a very dangerous philosophy of doing exactly the opposite of loving our neighbor and it will be our downfall if we do not correct it because there is a power greater than humans who is Love and established the world to run on love’s energy.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we become so cynical, we cannot appreciate the joy of making friends and building consensus, sharing goals and discovering common ground, and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. 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 Others in the Bad Times

Kingdom Building

October 7, 2019

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

Even in exile the best thing for our group and every other group is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Think about that. God’s wisdom of loving our neighbors, even if they are aliens to us or we are aliens to them in the long run is better for all. Living as normal a life as possible even in oppression is the right thing to do.

People of color know this reality. Young black men taught to open doors for ladies often end up watching white ladies clasp their purses tighter, perhaps move them to the opposite side of their bodies and tuck them closely under their arms when they enter that door being held for them.

I am not suggesting God is saying be docile, go along to get along. God is always the God of justice. What I am saying is we must never let the negative actions of others change who we are and perhaps our positive actions can change those who oppress through sharing the love of God. God is a God of community. Working for the rights of all protects our rights and provides for a much better world.

Prayer: God enable us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves all the times. 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.

Generations of Being One

Kingdom Building

October 3, 2019

Scripture Reading:
2 Timothy 1:1-14

I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. –2 Timothy 1:3-7

My third paternal great grandfather, John Knott, travel from Pennsylvania to Illinois in 1834 to homestead on land that was ceded to the United States in the disputed 1804 Treaty of St. Louis. The indigenous peoples of several tribes who identified with the land fought for it in 1832 led by Black Hawk a leader of the Sauk tribe. The event was dubbed The Black Hawk War. Once the land was cleared of the indigenous people, it was made available for homesteading. As I researched my ancestor’s history, I found a note that said, The first church services among whites was held in John Knott’s home. I knew he was raised in the church. I had found records of that in Pennsylvania so that did not surprise me. What was interesting to me was the phrase among whites indicating that some of the indigenous people of that area had most likely practiced the Christian faith. I do not know if my relative had any hand in recording that record or if the keeper of the history had thought it was important. It is highly possible. French missionary Jacques Marquette was a Jesuit priest assigned to work with the indigenous people along the Mississippi in 1666. Just as Timothy could trace his faith lineage, according to the above scripture, I and my ancestor John and his ancestor William could trace our faith history back generations so perhaps could some of the indigenous people.

If we are to rekindle the gift of God that is within us, we must learn to see it in one another. If we are to answer Christ’s call to be one, we must do so with a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

Prayer: Lord, I cannot imagine how you must feel when you see your children mistreating one another. Forgive us when we assume you are our possession, not our God. Amen.

*https://www.biography.com/religious-figure/jacques-marquette#targetText=Jacques%20Marquette%20Biography&targetText=French%20missionary%20and%20explorer%20Jacques,portion%20of%20the%20Mississippi%20River.

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 across Boundaries

Kingdom Building

August 30, 2019

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16

Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. –Hebrews 13:8, 15-16

Are we living our faith in ways we would want to be imitated? If we are unhappy with the way things are going right now, we may be harvesting what we sowed. Is our primary purpose in being the church to share God’s love throughout the world, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, to do justice? Are we building the Kingdom of God for all people not just people who look and act like us and in the way,  God envisioned the Kingdom not by our blueprint?

Yes, buildings require upkeep, children and adults must be taught, music is important for worship. A lot of our faith work is routine, opening the church for services, ordering study materials, filling communion cups, maintaining the church bus, mowing the lawn, weeding the flower beds, providing hospitality to each other and to strangers. Is our motivation for doing these chores adding to our purpose?

We certainly have a responsibility to care for each other, as we minister to those in grief, the sick, the lonely and sometimes that feels like a full-time job. We always need to find some time to reach beyond our walls into our neighborhoods and to the ends of the earth. We do not need to do everything. We do need to do something.

Where cross the crowded ways of life,
where sound the cries of race and clan,
above the noise of selfish strife,
we hear your voice, O Son of Man.

In haunts of wretchedness and need,
on shadowed thresholds fraught with fears,
from paths where hide the lures of greed,
we catch the vision of your tears.

From tender childhood’s helplessness,
from human grief and burdened toil,
from famished souls, from sorrow’s stress,
your heart has never known recoil*.

Prayer: Lord help us to find our something to do as we reach beyond our walls into the larger world. Amen.

*First three verses of Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life by Frank Mason North see at https://hymnary.org/text/where_cross_the_crowded_ways_of_life

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.

Speaking on God’s Behalf

August 20, 2019

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,
‘Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.’ –Jeremiah 1:9-10

Following the standard that if an action does not pass the test of love it is not of God is my primary means of differentiated what is of God and what is not. The hard part is discerning what is love in a world that uses the word loosely and in a world that modifies love with words like tough. Much time spent communing with God about what constitutes love in each situation is often required and many times I lean heavily into the observation of Paul found in Romans 8:26-27:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

I do not use the word tough related to love, although I do believe that we all must face the consequences of our own actions. In the stories of God throughout the Bible that seems to describe God’s relationship with God’s people when they failed to heed the warnings of the prophets even to being taken into exile.

I say all that as preparation for understanding Jeremiah’s call to be the mouth of God and even more to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant. To some degree all followers of Christ are called to deal with the absence of love in a variety of situations that some call evil. A daunting task in any circumstances. I am reminded of a hymn written during World War II that shares good advice:

In times like these, we need a Savior
In times like these, we need an anchor
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock

This Rock is Jesus, Yes, He’s the one
This Rock is Jesus, The only One
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock

Prayer: Lord, expand our understanding of your love so that we can better discern our work for you in our 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.

*First two verses of In Times Like These by Ruth Caye Jones (Mother Jones) see at https://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/ruth_cye_jones/in_times_like_these-lyrics-914155.html