Tag Archives: Loving Like Jesus

Slavery

Kingdom Building

August 11, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:32-40

‘Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. –Luke 12:35-39

Slavery was a norm in the first century when Jesus interacted with the crowds. His audience did not need further description to understand the situation. Of course, we are only 150 or so years removed from slavery being a legal reality in the USA. In many ways, we are still adapting to the cultural changes brought about by the Emancipation Proclamation. Immigrants without documentation are brought into this country by businesses who profit from being able to pay them less than minimum wage with no benefits which is close to slavery. Human trafficking of all sorts is more common than we want to admit. Since such activities are illegal now, it is usually the victims who are punished for the crime when it is discovered. Thus, I find It hard to read our scripture above to find the message of hope and faith that is buried in the sands of slavery, but there is both faith and hope as we drill deep into the story.

If we were the slave awaiting the return of the master and being alert to his coming would we expect him to invite us to sit down and eat while he serves us? Is Jesus turning the culture upside down? How do we relate to this all-powerful, always present, all-knowing God willing to serve us as a slave? How do we understand that such a God as this loves us all and wants the very best for each of us? The answer is simple, we love this one and only God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and pay God the highest honor when we love all God’s children in the same way.

Prayer: God who is love, forgive us when we fail to love you as fully as possible by loving all your children as completely as possible. 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.

God’s Refugees

Kingdom Building

August 9, 2019

Scripture Reading:
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them. –Hebrews 11:8, 13-16

We as followers of Christ are called to be refugees in our world today longing for and challenged to create a homeland that mirrors the love that Jesus modeled for us in his life. We are refugees sent forth into all the world to share the ways and worth, beauty and truth of Christ’s message. It seems to me that the closer we get to some semblance of peace and harmony in our segment of the world where our group has a pretty good life, having enough to meet basic needs and more, we grow complacent as the enticements of the world blend seamlessly into a worldview that equates our homeostasis* with God’s. They are not the same.

We are certainly not the first to view such things as our material success, being the same as God’s vision of the world. We even today have a title for it: The Prosperity Gospel. The stories of the Kings of Israel accompanied by the warnings of prophets like Amos and Isaiah illustrate the same scenario. I suppose that only proves that we truly do not learn from history. We, however, can learn from history striving to transition the whole world and all that is in it to God’s vision of the world God created. We not only can do this with God’s help, we must.

Prayer: Lord, save us from ourselves as we settle for less than your promises have to offer. Amen.

*a tendency toward maintenance of relatively stable social conditions among groups with respect to various factors (as food supply and population among animals) and to competing tendencies and powers within the body politic, to society see at http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/homeostasis

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 the Christ in Everyone

Kingdom Building

August 2, 2019

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:1-11

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all! –Colossians 3:9-11

Not lying to one another starts with not lying to ourselves. When we can be fully honest with ourselves, comfortable in our own skin, we have the freedom to love everyone. When we measure our worth in comparison to others is when we fall into the trap of qualifying people based on our self-concept and how it measures against other people.

When we accept that Christ is the only plump line by which we need to measure ourselves and when we accept that Christ meets us with grace as he guides us toward being able to love perfectly, we are freed from a comparison-defined life.

Just this week I read or heard of people threatening the lives of people or killing them because of the color of their skin or their religion or their political viewpoint or their sexuality. In some instances, such hatred is being done in the name of Christ. Just as Jesus wept over Jerusalem, he is surely weeping over our world today.  Paul tells us in the scripture above that Christ is in all, no exceptions. When we denigrate anyone, we are denigrating Christ.

Prayer:
Help us accept each other
as Christ accepted us;
teach us as sister, brother,
each person to embrace.
Be present, Lord, among us
and Bring us to believe:
we are ourselves accepted
and meant to love and live*. Amen

*First verse of Help Us Accept Each Other by Fred see at https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw3521.aspx

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.

Avoiding Distraction

Kingdom Building

July 26, 2019

Scripture Reading: Colossians 2:6-19

Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. –Colossians 2:16-19

If I may personify the world, the world likes to distract us with pesky things so that we will not go forward with building the Kingdom of God ruled by love. We have a lot of that going on right now. It is extremely hard not to get caught up in it instead of proactively working to change the world one step at a time in the direction of a world ruled by love.  

Some of our politicians excel at this. It was rather breathtaking this year tracking legislation in Oklahoma because for the past several years stalemate ruled our legislature and executive branch. Elections matter and while there was little change in the ratio of members of the various parties did not change much, people were elected who were willing to work on things that mattered. We still have a long way to go but progress has been made in education and criminal justice that were sorely needed. In very few instances was progress distracted by inflammatory issues that instantly distract from the hard work wisely using our tax dollars to assure our children get quality education and our criminal justice system become a source of restoration rather than confinement.

Paul of course in the scripture above is reacting to the distractions that can occur in churches pulling us away from sharing the good news of Jesus Christ while we fight over what color the carpet should be or do we want to take communion by intinction or serve it row by row in small individual containers. Sometimes I think we busy ourselves with distractions because it is just easier than dealing with the messiness of addressing hard issues our world lays in our paths. Changing the color of our carpets does not require us to change ourselves. Ending racism does, welcoming the stranger may, restoring prisoners will. What we need to remember is adapting to Jesus’ ways molds us into becoming the people God created us to be.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the courage we need to love like you. 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.

Who is our Neighbor?

Kingdom Building

July 14, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25-37

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’ –Luke 10:29-37

The lawyer seems to see his faith as a business deal. Rather than treat everyone as his neighbor, he wants to know the minimum requirement. “Tell me exactly who I must love as I love myself so I can have eternal life.” Jesus essentially answers the question with a story that asks, “Who is not your neighbor?”

For a few years a major dispute has been continuing in a neighboring city about converting a golf course into a place for more needed housing. Now I understand that avid golfers might want to live close to a club and would miss it when it is gone. I even understand that living next to a good golf course might increase the value of property. That said, are the people in need of housing our neighbors and are we responsible for assuring that they have affordable, accessible housing available? Probably the more important question is “Do I want to live across the street from housing that is classified as equal opportunity?”

What we do not recognize is the fact that if we loved our neighbors as we loved ourselves the value of our property would not be impacted by whoever moves in next door.

Prayer: Lord, help us understand that our values are constructs of our making and that it is our values and not yours that we are applying when we esteem our worth greater than any other persons worth. Forgive us and show us the way to place your values first in our lives. 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. Most of us would have no problem being kind to our neighbors because we choose to live in neighborhoods made up of people who look and live a lot like we do.

Discerning Plumb Lives for Living

Kingdom Building

July 8, 2019

Scripture Reading: Amos 7:7-17

This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb-line.’ Then the Lord said,
‘See, I am setting a plumb-line
   in the midst of my people Israel;
   I will never again pass them by;
the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
   and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
   and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.’ Amos 7:7-9

I cannot say I have a favorite scripture; I have favorite scriptures for specific issues. This scripture from Amos is probably my favorite scripture regarding guidance for living. I think of a plumb line as a vertical level. A plumb line establishes a straight edge by which a builder can set bricks or stones or wood planks even to make sure they are in line one with the other. That is significant because well aligned building materials are stronger and more able to withstand violent forces like the weather or invading armies.  I read a book* recently that said Rome fell from power primarily because it was not able to withstand the earthquakes and disease that besieged it even though, Rome by most accounts, had the strongest army in the world. That is certainly a lesson from which the USA might learn.

We know a lot about ways of being that are good for us as individuals and better for our society, but we do a haphazard job of following them to our detriment. For example, Oklahoma is a major oil producing state which undergirds our economy. In Oklahoma, which has the most induced earthquakes in US, only 1-2% of the earthquakes can be linked to hydraulic fracturing. Disposal of waste fluids that are a byproduct of oil production is the primary cause of the recent increase in earthquakes in the central United States**. It took a while for officials to accept this as fact but once they did regulations were changed to address the problem. The chart above shows the results. We made corrections based on a plumb line. Of course, that does not solve all the issues related to dependence on fossil fuels, but it is a beginning to address one. What may come as a surprise to some is that Oklahoma has ranked in the top four states in producing wind energy for the last ten years***. I guess Rogers and Hammerstein were right the wind does come sweeping down the plains.

The thing about plumb lines is new ones are needed from time to time as societies change. I think some stand the test of time like the Ten Commandments. Jesus identified two plumb lines, loving God and loving our neighbors as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:36-4), as ones overriding all others. We need to prayerfully discern our plumb lines and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit use them wisely.

Prayer: Lord, grant us wisdom to objectively identify plumb lines of living and guide us in adjusting to them. Amen.

*The Fate of Rome by Kyle Harper
**https://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/induced/myths.php
***https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_Oklahoma

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.

Gentleness

Kingdom Building

July 4, 2019

Scripture Reading: Galatians 6:1-17

My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads. –Galatians 6:1-5

The Greek word translated above as transgression is paraptóma which means a falling away, lapse, slip, false step, trespass, sin*. This definition runs the gamut from failing to complete a task someone has committed to do to doing something that potentially separates someone from God. His advice is generic for all instances we are to restore the person in a spirit of gentleness.

Paul addresses a tough issue here. What is our role when we see someone doing something we perceive as a transgression? When a new nursery volunteer fails to show up, we might call them and ask if everything is OK and if they say I just forgot or I overslept, we might say, would you like me to call and remind you? You know a lot of young parents are depending on us to care for their children so they can worship.

My understanding of the scriptures is that Jesus ultimately is the only one who can judge sin, what separates us from God when we are missing the mark in our relationship with and response to our calling from God. We certainly can and do observe people who are close to us who are doing things that are harmful to themselves and perhaps others. Things that are not consistent with loving our neighbors as we should be loving ourselves. It is my experience that the only thing that breaks through the shells such people have built around themselves is gentleness coupled with firmness. I love you, I will always love you but I cannot allow you to sell drugs from my home.

We must also deal with the question: do we become a transgressor ourselves if we fail to restore in a spirit of gentleness? This gets back to that question of judgement. It seems to me there is a lot going on in our society that looks more like hate than love as we condemn others for not being like us.

Prayer: Lord, help us to treat others with gentleness as you restore us through your gentle love. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/3900.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.

Seeds of Love

Kingdom of God

July 1, 2019

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-14

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favour with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. And the king of Aram said, ‘Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.’ –2 Kings 5:1-5

I am impressed. A slave, a child, a kidnapped child recognizing her owner’s problem and suggested that the prophet who is in Samaria could cure him of leprosy and he should go see him. Many, perhaps even most of the children we are holding at the border, in cramped unsanitary conditions are Christians. My prayer is that they, too, have the faith this young slave girl had so they can see past that which is harmful to them and let God be the source of their self-worth as God was for this young girl.

We, too, need to remember who we serve and let the love God flow through us so that we can work for justice whenever we are entangle in injustice whether willingly or by our silence. We live in a country that claims to be of the people by the people for the people. Our government should reflect our values. When we do not see that happening, we have a responsibility to work to bring our governmental outcomes in sync with those values. And, yes, that is hard because we are a diverse population representing many religions and those with no religion at all. Jesus Christ called us to be one and we cannot even do that within the population that claims him as their Savior.

We must lean into the guidance of the Holy Spirit and prayerfully consider if our values are in sync with God’s. That will prepare us to open avenue of dialogue with all God’s children and that means everyone to search for Common Ground for the Common Good. Even the smallest action of oneness can be the seed that can spread the love of God throughout the earth.

Prayer: Lord, we are lost in a desert of desolation and do not see those seeds we need to plant. Help us find those seeds of love and plant them and nourish them into full fruition. 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.

Self-Examination

Kingdom Building

June 27, 2019

Scripture Reading: Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. –Galatians 5:16-21

Sometimes I wonder if people misread this scripture thinking it is commanding us to do the laundry list of behaviors as opposed to avoiding them. I hate listening to congressional hearings anymore because they rarely asked reasonable questions but rather go off on some tangent about how the others side are dirty dogs. We seem to no longer judge people’s character based on any of these behaviors. We tend to admire those who follow such lifestyles and perhaps even envy them ourselves because we are missing out on their fun.

I do remember the days when we perhaps went overboard on judging people by a strict set of moral rules and shunned them for breaking them. I do not what to return to that either. We probably need to discover or recover what Paul means by the phrases Live by the Spirit and led by the Spirit. Paul gave us each and all good advice in Philippians 2:12-13 when he encouraged us to:

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Such behavior requires us first and foremost to come into right relationship with God through the example of Jesus and welcoming the Spirit into our live. Secondly, we must be mindful of how we interact with others and whether our behavior is having the impact God desires for us. Daily self-examination is a good habit to form. Reviewing this list of examples of inappropriate behaviors might be a start. Some are things we would never do; others may be things we cannot admit we do; and some are things we know we do but cannot seem to stop. In any case, the Spirit can help us gain insight and make corrections.

Prayer: Create in me a clean heart, O God,
   and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
   and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
   and sustain in me a willing spirit*. Amen.

*Psalm 51:10-12

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 Witness

Kingdom Building

June 23, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 8:26-39

When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him. –Luke 8:34-39

I think we can understand why they wanted Jesus to leave after destroying the swine herd but now we must deal with his leaving to poor guy he healed to introduce the people who had not previously helped him to a God of love. One of my favorite songs in Andraé Crouch’s My Tribute explains the witness power of one who has experienced God’s love in an unjust world:

How can I say thanks
for the things You have done for me?
Things so undeserved,
yet You gave to prove Your love for me;
the voices of a million angels
could not express my gratitude.
All that I am and ever hope to be,
I owe it all to Thee.

To God be the glory,
to God be the glory,                                                                                                                                       :
to God be the glory
for the things He has done.
With His blood He has saved me,
with His power He has raised me;
to God be the glory
for the things He has done.

Just let me live my life,
let it pleasing, Lord to Thee,
ad if I gain any praise,
let it go to Calvary.

Christ calls all of us to witness within our communities our experience of God’s love and to enable those throughout the world to witness in their communities the same thing.

Prayer: Lord help us all be conduits of 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.