Tag Archives: Loving One Another

Dealing with Iniquities

Eastertide

May 13, 2020

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 66:8-20

Bless our God, O peoples,
   let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept us among the living,
   and has not let our feet slip.
For you, O God, have tested us;
   you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
   you laid burdens on our backs;
you let people ride over our heads;
   we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
   and I will tell what he has done for me.
I cried aloud to him,
   and he was extolled with my tongue.
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
   the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
   he has given heed to the words of my prayer. –Psalm 66:8-12, 16-19

A headline in the paper caught my eye. The Supreme Court is hearing a case where two teachers from a faith-based school had filed claims of discrimination as one had been fired for turning 60 and was considered too old to teach. The other was fired because she was diagnosed with cancer. The school apparently is claiming that it did not have to obey federal laws related to age or disability discrimination because those laws did not apply to them based on the separation of church and state. My first response had nothing to do with what the Supreme Court decides. I wondered how they explained those decisions to God.

People of God are called throughout the Bible to do justice. I think it is time we who claim to be Christ-followers, dust off our Bibles, and reread Jesus’ guidance for the way we live as individuals as well as serving as the Body of Christ.

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. (Matthew 7:5)

I am a strong supporter of the separation of church and state. In a democracy where we the people are the foundation of our civil government, I also think our faith informs our personal stances on civil matters. Perhaps that is what is at the heart of the shambles in which our government functions. Maybe we are cherishing iniquity in our hearts and projecting them through our systems of governance.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for losing sight of your way of being and following the lesser gods of the world. Help us to renew our understanding 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.

Patience in a Time of Fear

Eastertide

Lifestyle, Leisure, Hobby

May 5, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Acts 7:55-60
But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.

Stephen prayed Lord, do not hold this sin against them. Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing. (Luke 23:34) The above scripture and Jesus’ words from the cross came to mind while I watched news reports of people protesting requirements to follow the rules meant to protect their lives and the lives of others. There is no way to make anybody follow regulations or laws if they choose to break them. That includes the Ten Commandments and even Jesus’ call for us to Love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. All must pay the consequences of their choices. God’s guiding laws were designed to show people the better way of being that will make their lives physically, mentally, and spiritually healthier.

Stephen was preaching things others did not want to hear, and when they could not control him, they gathered others to join them and brought him before the Temple council, which led to his being stoned to death.

Fear does terrible things to people. We particularly fear the things over which we have no control.  I think it is human nature to want to do something, anything to avoid negative impacts. Thus, to most not doing anything except staying home and wearing masks and washing our hands is not a productive response.  The problem with that is it works. These are truly acts of loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. Since staying home go against our basic norms, it may be the hardest thing we have ever done.

Prayer: Lord, who routinely counseled us not to fear, give us the courage to love our neighbors as we love ourselves like we have never done before. 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.

Becoming Whole

Lent

April 4, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 26:14-27:66

When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’ He answered, ‘The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’ Judas, who betrayed him, said, ‘Surely not I, Rabbi?’ He replied, ‘You have said so.’ –Matthew 26:17-25

Why did Judas betray Jesus? Some say he was just greedy, and 30 pieces of silver sounded pretty good to him. Others speculate that he was impatient, trying to force Jesus to make his move and take over the world. The Gospel of Judas written by Gnostics, probably in the second century, portrays Judas’s actions as done in obedience to instructions given to him by Jesus. According to the book, Judas was a trusted insider helping Jesus roll out his plan. Of course, it is all speculation. Do we ever know for sure our own motivations much less the motivation of another when we commit an act that resonates negatively through the lives we touch?

This upcoming Holy Week is a good time for each of us to surrender ourselves to God seeking better understanding of our relationship with God and how that relationship can purify us from our deep-seated self-doubt perhaps even self-denigration.  I firmly believe that when Jesus said love your neighbor as you love yourself*, he was sending us a message about what motivates us to do the things that separate us from God, cause us to miss the mark. I know it may sound crazy that people are greedy because they do not love themselves enough but why else would someone invest so much energy in obtaining outward wealth? Isn’t greed a deep need to fill a gap in the person’s self-worth? Jesus could heal others because he was whole himself. Wholeness leads to oneness and oneness leads to justice. We are called to facilitate each of these, and we fulfill that responsibility when our communing with God enables the work of our whole being in taking God’s love to the ends of the earth.

Prayer: Lord, throughout this time of remembering your life, death, and resurrection open us to receiving your cleansing of those things that hold us back from being fully whole. Amen.

*See Mark 12:30-31

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.

Serving God in All Our Interactions

Lent

March 31, 2020

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a

The Lord God helps me;
   therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
   and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
   he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
   Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
   Let them confront me.
It is the Lord God who helps me;
   who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
   the moth will eat them up. –Isaiah 50:7-9

God’s judgment of us is the only judgment that matters. We must, however, remember that one of the things God judges is how we love one another. Thus, we must be in close communion with God for God to help us understand when we are correctly interacting with others, when we need to change our behavior to better represent God’s ways in our ways, and when we need to lovingly take a stand that may put us at odds with others.

One of the first lessons we learn as children is that everyone is not at the same level of development as we are. We can walk while our baby brother crawls. We learn to play with younger siblings and friends at their level while continuing to develop our level, and even be the less experienced persons to someone older. That is a pattern that functions in all aspects of life including our faith development. How we walk with each other as we grow and learn makes a big difference in our maturation and in how we impact the maturation of another. James W. Fowler’s Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning has been helpful to me in understanding that principle.

I have also learned, generally the hard way, that the reaction someone has to me may not have anything or little to do with me at all. Someone having a stomachache or arriving at a meeting after arguing with one of their children or having had a painful childhood experience that clouds their thoughts may react surprisingly on the subject under discussion. And that goes both ways. We all have had to interact with people when we were dealing with burdens or distractions that modify our behavior. Sometimes we need to just let those encounters go and sometimes we need to deal with them outside the immediate situation. All times we need to seek God’s guidance as we self-examine what we could or should have done differently.

Prayer: Lord, in these days of sheltering at home or going forth in the face of an epidemic to meet essential needs grant us the wisdom to understand each other and to practice abundant 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.

Epiphany

Epiphany

January 7, 2020

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 42:1-9

Thus says God, the Lord,
   who created the heavens and stretched them out,
   who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
   and spirit to those who walk in it:
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
   I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
   a light to the nations,
   to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
   from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord, that is my name;
   my glory I give to no other,
   nor my praise to idols.
See, the former things have come to pass,
   and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
   I tell you of them. –Isaiah 42:5-9

God is very consistent about wanting the very best for God’s children, all God’s children from the blind to the prisoners. God is the very source of life who gives breath to the people. The world has taught us differently. The world prefers hierarchies of people with some being better than others. Oh, we call it something else, richer than others, whiter than others, prettier than others, better educated than others. It is not God’s way.

Once this better than phenomenon is implanted in our being it is really hard to erase. I think the only way we get rid of it is by getting to know others in our day-to-day lives in their day-to-day lives. I once provided transportation for a mother and her three or four-year-old son to several specialists visits at Children’s Hospital clinics. He had multiple medical problems and was developmentally delayed, but he was the same size as a normal three or four-year-old. He lacked the ability wrap his arms around our necks or his legs around our bodies. He could not sit up in a wheelchair and we did not have the kind of chair in which we could have transported him, so we carried him. That mother, tiny though she was, had developed the muscles to handle his dead weight. I was young and healthy so I could carry him for short periods to give her a break, but he was her precious child and she wanted him in her arms. I learned a lot about love that day. I learned a lot about loving like God that day.

Prayer: Lord, grant us those day-to-day experiences so that we might grow more loving and accepting every day. 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.

Refugees

Christmastide

December 28, 2019

Scripture Reading: Matthew 2:13-23

Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’ –Matthew 2:13-15

The story in this scripture is being used to highlight the current threats refugees all over the world are facing. It is appropriate as we watch on the news the many refugees being driven from their homelands to less hostile, but unwelcoming territories. Most of our world was settled by migrating people seeking a better life from their starting point. Cain may be the first refugee recorded in the Bible, which says that he went with God’s protection even though his reason for leaving was that he killed his brother. Abraham was a migrant from Ur. Joseph was sold into slavery into Egypt, and Jesus was taken to Egypt to save him from the Romans who had conquered Israel.

I track my ancestry through an online service that maps all the different places from which my ancestors came. All eight of the primary lines I track were here before the first census in 1790. Religious freedom was a primary motive for the earliest of my ancestors’ transatlantic treks. Lack of a means to support their families was the primary reason for others. Famines were not unusual in England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and France. These people all made positive contributions to the USA.

My ancestors were also all white, therein lies the rub in our immigration problems today and in our treatment of the indigenous people whose lands we claimed as a part of our perceived manifest destiny. Jim Wallis defines America’s original sin as racism. We imported slaves from Africa. Low-paid, poorly treated Asians were brought here to build our railroads, and people from our southern neighbor’s were needed to harvest our food. Lust for power and greed were the driving forces in all these instances and remain a great shame for us today.

As we prepare for a new year, let us dedicate ourselves to restoring wholeness to all of God’s children enabling us to become the people God created us to be.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for choosing not to see the racism that is all about us. Show us ways to remove discrimination from our society and create a world of mutual respect for all your children. 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. Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt into the promise land.

Let God be God

Kingdom Building

October 9, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 66:1-12

Come and see what God has done:
   he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
He turned the sea into dry land;
   they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
   who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
   let the rebellious not exalt themselves. –Psalm 66:5-7

I must tell you if you will allow me to personify God, I can image God shaking God’s head wondering what in the world the nations are doing. We have pretty much tossed the Ten Commandments out the window. Commandments that deal with our relationships with God and with one another that impact everyone, still very relevant guidance for people throughout the generations. While at the same time we get all bent out of shape policing one or two random laws extracted from the 600+ ancient Hebrew codes while ignoring the rest and adding some subjects that are not in the Bible anywhere. Emphasis is placed on behaviors that impact small percentages of the population freeing most to just be holier than thou because they are cleared of any participation. Few seem to care whether we are living Jesus’ two prime concerns loving God and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves, and we are pretty choosy about who we consider our neighbors.

Perhaps the world might seem a little less chaotic if we took the time to love one another, took care of one another, and see what God could accomplish by letting God be God and we serve as God’s people working together to create a better group of nations.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we think we can deal with the world on our own without your awesome deeds. 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.

No other god

Kingdom Building

September 29, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 16:19-31

Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.” He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.” He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”’ –Luke 16:26-31

What is it about human nature that distracts us from seeing what is right and just, choosing to be drawn toward powerless idols? Why are we mesmerized by leaders responsible for our wellbeing who are only after their own interest? Do we think some of their magic will rub off on us? Why does Luke cast father Abraham in a very pessimistic role of perceiving people as either unwilling or unable to change even if they witness a greater power than they have ever observed at work before? Where is God in our system of priorities?

The older I get the more important I deem the commandment you shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3) which Jesus defines through a relationship of love when he quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 as described in Matthew 22:37: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”

Loving another is a choice. I do not know any human and certainly do not believe God wants anyone to be made to love another or love God. Such an act would be a direct antithesis of the meaning of love. I do think Jesus meant it when he said we were to love God which is measured to some degree by how well we love one another according to Matthew 25. Loving one another is impossible when our own interest is our priority.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we caste you in our lives below the gods of the world like greed and power. 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.

Learning Love

Kingdom Building

September 14, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 15:1-10

Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’

 So he told them this parable: ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. –Luke 15:1-7

Yesterday, I explored the definitions of a sinner in conjunction with the use of that word “sinner” in 1 Timothy 1:12-17. Two definitions were given: falling short of what God approves and forfeiting because of missing the mark. Today the lectionary developers illustrate that scripture further by sharing some of Jesus’ parables. The lost sheep has clearly missed the mark and may well have strayed from what God approves. What does the shepherd do? He or she searches for the lost sheep until the sheep is found and returned to the flock. The sheep was saved by and through the direct act of God’s love through the shepherd.

As followers of Christs we are called to share God’s love among ourselves and with every soul on this earth. We demonstrate God’s love through our lives and our concern for the other.  When the other is struggling to meet their basic needs those needs must be met before they can move beyond their sense of survival.  Jesus recognized this when in Matthew 25 he commanded us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, restore the prison, and welcome the stranger. Such actions open the door to introduce those in need to the love of God.  When the other is struggling with searching for self-worth in accumulation of wealth or power and coming up empty, we are called to love them in such a way that they can find the fulfillment by learning to love themselves enough to love others. God hardwired us with the capacity to love one another and we will always be restless until we accept that.

 Prayer: God of Grace and Mercy, teach us how to love one another as you love us. 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.

No Quid Pro Quo

September 1, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 14:1, 7-14

He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’ –Luke 14:12-14

One of the hardest lessons to learn as a Christ follower is that there is no quid pro quo in God’s Kingdom (you scratch my back; I will scratch yours). I think that is so hard to grasp because it is such a prevalent value in most societies. Being popular does not make anything right. God’s love is given 100% with no strings attached. Jesus died on the cross in our name with no strings attached. God’s grace is given with no strings attached. We can turn our backs on God, but God never turns God’s back on us. The hope and faith of love is that such generosity will be mirrored in our lives. Our loving one another is the greatest gift we can give God.

We get caught in traps of trying to define by rules the depth and breadth of our love and thus God’s love. We cannot set limits on something that has no boundaries. God provided us with basic guidance’s in how to live our lives resulting in our working hard drilling down to the least we must do to meet the expected behavior. This stretches all the way back to Cain asking, Am I my brother’s keeper? (Genesis 4:9) and appears again in the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

Unlike the world’s banquet table, Christ’s banquet table is open to all. We are called to not only desire having our basic needs met but also the basic needs of families fleeing terror in their homelands, the families of our economic competitors in China, and the child labors in Sri Lanka. And not just meeting basic needs but also introducing the whole world to God’s abundant life that is being stolen from so many in our world.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. –John 10:10

Prayer: Thank you, Lord for your great love. Help me mirror your love in my 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.