Tag Archives: Loving One Another

How do I Love Thee, O God?

Eastertide
May 5, 2018

Scripture Reading: John 15:9-17

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. –John 15:9-11

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem, How do I Love Thee? popped into my head when I read our scripture for today. Her poem most likely was written about her husband Robert Browning but I think it is interesting to read regarding our love relationship with God as the poem flows with Ms. Barrett Browning’s faith.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death*.

A very successful 19th-century poet, Miss Barrett was an abolitionist and a strong supporter of ending child labor. She did justice with a pen. Her marriage to Robert Browning, also a poet, grew secretly from their common careers for fear her father would not approve. When she married Mr. Browning anyway, she was disinherited. Perhaps that is a testament to the level of her love for Robert.

God is the very essence of love. Accepting the wholeness of God’s love enables our ability to love in all circumstances whether the love of parents, family, spouse, the folks next door or our neighbors at the ends of the earth. We meet them where they are, and where we are and grow together in the bonds of God’s love.

Prayer: Gracious Lord,
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace. Amen.

*How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. See at https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/how-do-i-love-thee-sonnet-43

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 without Judging

Eastertide
May 1, 2018

Scripture Reading: Acts 10:44-48

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

It seems to be difficult for humans to love one another without judging one another. There is no link between the two. Ultimate judgment lies only in God’s purview, delegated to Jesus Christ. Society has identified a need to judge people who may cause harm to others and thus we have an extensive judicial system based on the rule of laws that were developed over time and experience and are updated as experience dictates change. There was a time when it was illegal for persons of color to eat in public restaurants; now it is against the law to forbid persons of color from eating in public restaurants. Of course, we as individuals, families, and groups make formal and informal judgments all the time. Some organizations restrict membership based on where one lives as in a home owner’s organization, how people dress, and so forth. Such judgments are limited at times by civil law and for persons of faith by their religious tenets. While such acts of judging are necessitated by culture and protecting the Common Good, they should in no way restrict our ability to love one another.

The problem is such judgments do often get in the way of our loving one another. For example, the law restricting people of color from eating in public restaurants was overturned because many citizens saw such a law as infringing on other rights and unrelated to any harm that might be done to white people. The Bible was and is used to justify all kinds of discrimination based on human judgments that are counter to the commandment to love one another.

In our scripture today Peter is talking about the laws of his faith system that said only Jews could know the Holy Spirit but his own eyes saw that was not the case and he called his audience to account for continuing this exclusion practice when he said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’

We need to follow the example of Peter and recognize when our love is failing because we are judging when it is not our job.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see the hypocrisy of our judgments when considered in the light of your commandment to love one another. Not only help us see but help we overcome. 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.

Sons and Daughters Not Hired Hands

Eastertide
April 21, 2018

Scripture Reading: John 10:11-18

‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. –John 10:11-15

Growing up on a farm, we did not have either sheep or wolves, but we did have chickens and coyotes, which cause the same sort of concern.  We children were the only thing close to hired hands on the farm and we were not paid individually but contributed to the family income. I suppose we had inherited the same attitude of the owners. It was a family farm.

The Kingdom of God is like a family farm where the livelihood and wellbeing of all matter because in the ideal situation the family is held together in the bonds of love.  The earth and all that is in it is Christ’s farm (perhaps some other planets as well) and all its inhabitants are Christ’s sheep. As children of God, we take the place of the untrustworthy hired hands and are called to care for all our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as the earth.

This is a simple story plucked from the culture from which Jesus came as is my story, but it is played out, in reality, every day. Fires are burning as I write destroying property, farm animals, and wildlife. The weather prediction is for higher fire damage tomorrow. A call has gone out for hay to feed surviving livestock as there is not enough grass or hay for them. One man so far has died as he tried to save a town. He is a member of the family of God. Our hearts go out to all those who have lost everything or something and particularly those who lost loved ones.

Prayer: Lord, wrap your loving arms around those devasted by fire today giving them strength to move forward and show us how we can help. 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.

Meaningful Discourse

Lent
February 28, 2018

Scripture Reading: Psalm 19

Moreover by them [the law] is your servant warned;
   in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can detect their errors?
   Clear me from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
   do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
   and innocent of great transgression. 

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart,
   be acceptable to you,
   O Lord, my rock, and my redeemer. –Psalm 19:11-14.

I, along I am sure with many others, love this closing part of the prayer in Psalm 19. As I read the earlier verses, I realized the entire prayer includes even more content to consider. The Psalmist asks God to clear us from hidden faults and help us avoid getting caught up with people who only have bad things to say. This is good advice for today.

I was particularly struck by the request that God clear me from hidden faults. Just as we often do not see our beauty,  we also can overlook our faults. Being able to judge ourselves is almost impossible. That is why it is good to examine ourselves regularly in light of the characteristics God expects of us like loving one another.

How often do we see the insolent? I confess I rarely use the world insolent so I consulted Merriam-Webster to help me understand what insolent means. I found two definitions that seem applicable:

  1. haughty and contemptuous or brutal in behavior or language
  2. lacking usual or proper respect for rank or position: presumptuously disrespectful or familiar toward equals or superiors*

We live in complex times with polarized views of the same world. Meaningful discourse requires us to examine our hearts and minds and understand why we hold the views that we choose. How do our life experiences shape our perspective? How can we help others understand why we see the world and the solutions we do? How do we learn from others new ways of understanding that can inform our discourse? How can we avoid getting caught up in insolence while loving all others?

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

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/insolent
**First verse of Help Us Accept Each Other by Fred Kaan see at http://www.hopepublishing.com/html/main.isx?sitesec=40.2.1.0&hymnID=3521

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.

Purified by Fire

Ordinary Time
February 7, 2018

Scripture Reading: Psalm 50:1-6
The mighty one, God the Lord,
   speaks and summons the earth
   from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
   God shines forth. 

Our God comes and does not keep silence,
   before him is a devouring fire,
   and a mighty tempest all around him.
He calls to the heavens above
   and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
‘Gather to me my faithful ones,
   who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!’
The heavens declare his righteousness,
   for God himself is judge.

We are in the midst of fire season here in Oklahoma. Foliage is dormant, draught is rampant, and no substantial moisture predicted. Farmers are wondering if their hay will last to feed cattle until the wheat grows if the wheat appears at all. Our world just seems out-of-synch. In times like these with tempest all around, the presence of God in our lives is paramount.

While fire destroys, it also purifies. Our ancestors in faith, I am sure, observed this phenomenon as they lived off the land. Perhaps that knowledge led to their rituals of worshipping God by making burnt sacrifices of perfect animals.

The idea of routine acts of purification continues today. We need to open our lives to the cleansing power of God to rid us of the trash that blocks our ability to love as God loves us. There is a lot of that trash littering our world.  Now is the time to clean it up and clear it out allowing us to serve God fully.

Prayer: Lord, forgive me for letting the things of the world clutter my life blinding me to realities of loving others to which I need to be open. 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.

Tenacity

Ordinary Time
February 5, 2018

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-12

Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel. The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent.’ –2 Kings:1-3

One of the characteristics often found among the people of God is tenacity. In the scripture above, I only quoted one segment of Elisha’s persistent pursuit of his mentor Elijah. After Bethel Elisha follows Elijah to Jerico, and after Jerico to the Jordan. Tenacious love is the bedrock of God’s people. Having the faith that love is the ultimate factor in living the abundant life God has planned for all his children. Our greatest challenge is living that love no matter what. We are called to love our way through greed, lust for power, and bigotry among many other forces of evil that threaten us. We are called to advocate for all to survive and thrive while those same forces are storming down on them. Loving and wanting the best for perpetrators of evil are perhaps the hardest parts of our work.

Jesus loved his enemies. I envision him looking down on Jerusalem saying:

‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! (Matthew 23:37)

While driving, I listened on the radio recently to interviews with retail workers saying they might work ten hours a week or 30. They never knew from week to week. They never worked a 40 hour week and in the down weeks paid part of their rent using a credit card on which they routinely were only able to make the minimum payment. I then heard someone interviewed saying that our economy was great because the stock market was higher than it had ever been. What a disconnect, our world is out of synch. God’s love is the only thread that can weave us together to become one in a world that affords all God’s abundant life. We are the conduits of God’s love in the world today.

Prayer: Lord, strengthen us to be tenacious in sharing your love throughout all aspects of 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.

Negative Filters

Advent
December 15, 2017

Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.
–1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

We live in a world that wants to blame others, castigate others, judge others to solve its problems. Perhaps we would reap more positive results if we plumbed deep within ourselves seeking God’s sanctification. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Sanctify* means:

  1. to make sacred or holy-set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use: consecrate, hallow
  2. to make free from sin: cleanse from moral corruption and pollution: purify
  3. to impart or impute sacredness, inviolability, title to reverence, venerability, or
  4. to make efficient as the means of holiness: make productive of holiness or piety

We rarely if ever are capable of changing another person. With God’s help, we can change ourselves. Each of us has a set of filters, some stronger than others, that color the way we view the world around us. These filters become a part of our mentality from the moment we are born. Hopefully, the first filter is one that says we are loved and wanted. Many filters are good and provide shortcuts for our brains, so we do not need to start every action or interaction from scratch. Some filters are not good. It is these filters that’s removal is necessary for us to each serve God productively.

I love item four above. We do not realize how much effort we waste by allowing those negative filters to rule our lives. Our negative filters obstruct our attempts to love God and love as Jesus loves because they incorrectly define the person we are striving to love. The only definition of any other person that matters is their creation in the image of God. When we judge another by any other criteria, our love cannot be productive. Particularly when we feel the need to force others to be like us before we can care for or about them, we fail God.

Prayer: God, forgive us when we pull away from you in search of things that will never satisfy our needs.  Make us whole so that we can fully become the people you created us to be. Cleanse us and make us your productive servants. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/Sanctify

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.

Unconditional Love and Eternity

Living in the Spirit
November 26, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:31-46

Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’—Matthew 25:41-46

What does Jesus mean by eternal punishment? If we do not understand what eternal punishment means, we easily let it go as unimportant. We do so at our peril.

The Greek word, kolasis, translated as punishment means chastisement, punishment, torment, perhaps with the idea of deprivation*.  In the Bible it appears only here in Mathew 25:46 and 1 John 4:18 which reads: There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

1 John may provide the insight we need to understand Jesus’ meaning. It is my understanding that the Kingdom of God started at Christ’s resurrection. If so, then eternity began then too. We practice every day of our lives loving the way Jesus loves training for perfection in our loving now and throughout eternity. 1 John suggests that fear is our greatest impediment to reaching that perfection. To love God and to love any other opens us to the vulnerability of not being loved in return. The ways of the world dictate that we must receive just return on any investment we make. The unconditional nature of God’s love negates that idea. If we give in to the way of the world regarding how we love, we condemn ourselves to live without accepting the unconditional love that God so freely extends to all.

Prayer: Lord, many of us having been hurt by what we perceived to be love but wasn’t. Asa result we built walls of fear to protect us from fully accepting your unconditional love. Tear those walls down and heal the wounds that enslave us keeping us from fulfilling our call to love as Jesus loved. 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.

Intercessory Pray

Living in the Spirit
October 23, 2017

Scripture Reading: Exodus 33:12-23

Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, you have said to me, “Bring up this people”; but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, “I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.” Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.’ He said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ And he said to him, ‘If your presence will not go, do not carry us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us? In this way, we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth.’ –Exodus 33:12-16

My Bible labels our scripture today as Moses’ Intercession, his prayer for his people. We have a service of intercessory pray each Sunday accompanying the pastor’s prayer where participants are invited to call out the name or names of persons or situations in need of prayer. These are usually brief with no detail, Bill, The Smith Family, those recovering from the hurricane. They are always heartfelt and thus important. After each name or situation is named the congregation responds, “Here our prayer O, Lord,” a community of faith joining together to asked God’s presence in the lives of others. Intercessory prayer is at least as old as the time of Moses while being just as relevant today. God already knows the detail of the need for prayer; we just want to join our prayers together to build the synergy of love that is needed to heal an individual, a family, community, or the world.

The interesting thing about intercessory prayer is that just by naming the ones in need we commit to working harder to bring into fulfillment the type of community and world God envisions for us. It is when we turn our eyes away from God and from our neighbors’ needs that paths open for evil to intervene.

Prayer: Here our prayers O, Lord and in the process of sharing in prayer open our hearts and minds to your service. 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.

Let Love Be Genuine

Living in the Spirit
August 31, 2017

Scripture Reading: Romans 12:9-21

; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. –Romans 12:9-13

I find the praise translated Let love be genuine intriguing.  Admittedly, I may be grasping at something that is not there. I am more social worker than theologian. I am definitely not a Greek scholar. The phrase seems to imply that love is a natural phenomenon among humans around which we might construct barriers keeping love from being fully actualized. The word love used here is the Greek agape* often used to describe God’s love, which centers in moral preference. God chooses to love us without condition, which does not mean we do not have to deal with the consequences of our actions. God calls us to choose to love God, and to love one another.

I borrow M. Scott Peck’s definition of love, which shortened is wanting the best for another. God wants the best for us, and we likewise are to want the best for all people. The problem arises when we try to define what the best for another might be. Such an act on our part is not in our job description. We can ask God for wisdom in dealing with people who seem to be traveling a bad road, but my experience is that trying to prescribe another’s behavior rarely succeeds. Each of us must work out with God our own salvation*. Our unconditional love, like God’s, if we are willing to let our love be genuine may be a catalyst toward someone  identifying and implementing changes needed.

Paul continues the scripture giving examples of how we can let love be genuine. Most regard choices we make in our interactions with one another.

Prayer: God of Mercy, instill in us the desire to choose to love unconditionally and nurture us to love in such a way that others can see the path you desire for them. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/greek/26.htm
**Philippians 2:12

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.