Tag Archives: Loving our Neighbors

Enemies to Friends

Ordinary Time

February 19, 2022

Scripture Reading:
Luke 6:27-38

‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you. –Luke 6:27-31

I wrote about this scripture last week. I do not know if I recorded the same scripture in two different places or if the creators of the lectionary thought it so important it listed it twice. The scripture is crucial to living as Christ wishes us to live.

What is an enemy and who are our enemies?

Strong’s Concordance describes the word enemy used in this scripture as properly, an enemy; someone openly hostile (at enmity), animated by deep-seated hatred. implies irreconcilable hostility, proceeding out of a “personal” hatred bent on inflicting harm*.

I must say I do not think of others as enemies. Only a few times in my life have I ever felt threatened by anyone who intended me physical harm. Enemies in my world are generally people who feel I am in their way toward attaining an outcome they desire. Isn’t that the purpose of most people we tag with the title enemy? Years ago, a child was brought to the Children’s hospital where I work from her school in severe pain which was quickly diagnosed as acute appendicitis. The school had been unable to contact her mother as she had no phone. Her mother lived in a sordid, dangerous place dubbed Sandtown by locals who avoided it like the plague. I was tasked to go find the girl’s mother and bring her back to the hospital. Having just moved to Oklahoma City, I had no idea where or what Sandtown was. I got the address and when I turned down the street, I needed to travel to reach the mother’s home, I was stopped by rough-looking men who rocked the front of my car demanding to know what I was doing in their community. I told them what my mission was, and they lowered their voices giving me direction to the mother’s house. I found the mother and as we drove by that welcoming committee on our way to the hospital, they waved us on wishing us well.

I am not sure most of us know what drives our desires. Vicious dogs often have been routinely beaten. Most people long for acceptance not knowing what in their lives made them feel unaccepted. Others know only too well why they are mistreated. As Christ-followers we are called to love one another even those who do not love themselves or us. When I got back to the hospital people were stunned that I even went there without a police escort. If i had known what it was, I am not sure I would have gone, but I am glad I did.

Sun Tzu is credited with the phrase “Keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer.” He was an ancient Chinese general.  His works focus much more on alternatives to battle, such as stratagem, delay, the use of spies and alternatives to war itself, the making and keeping of alliances, the uses of deceit, and a willingness to submit, at least temporarily, to more powerful foes**  I am not sure I agree with all his strategies, but I like the idea of working at making friends of our enemies.

Prayer: Lord, show us ways to heal our relationships with those who struggle against us. Amen.

* https://biblehub.com/greek/2190.htm

**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Tzu

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

Taking Joy in the Service of Others

Advent

November 25, 2021

Scripture Reading:
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.

Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

When Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, writers of the musical Oklahoma, wrote the line Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain, they clearly had direct knowledge of the weather in Oklahoma. I just returned from a graveside service in a cemetery on that plain where it was 60 degrees, and the winds were blowing 23 miles an hour with much higher gusts. The person whose life was being celebrated was a member of my church. Two women and one man I expected to see were there. They are always there when needed, quietly serving, hugging the family, sharing favorite memories, loving like Jesus. One shared with the daughter of the deceased that she received the call about her mother’s death just after the woman had finished baking the mother’s favorite bread; with no sugar, she could not have sugar. I walked to my car with the other woman I knew would be there, who said since she was out this way, she thought she would visit another lady from the church who lived in a nearby assisted living facility. That lady had just lost her brother. The behavior of these women is as much a part of their being as breath itself.

Indeed, how can we thank God enough for people like that in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of them?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for wonderful role models that model their lives after yours. Amen.

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

Being an Example

Living in the Spirit

October 3, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 10:2-16

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. –Mark 10-13-16

Children take in whatever their senses pick up. Psychologist Jean Piaget believed that children do not begin to develop the ability of abstract thinking until they are at least eleven years old. We joke about how children interpret life. A cartoon illustrates a child hearing his mother say on the phone that she was all tied up and could not talk. The image that forms in the child’s mind is the telephone cord wrapped around his mother from head to foot. If a child hears adults say something, like a curse word, they assume it is alright to say it until they utter the word at dinner with their grandparents.

We all have the responsibility to live our lives as examples for everyone around us but especially children.  The hate-filled anger displayed on TV by adults refusing to wear masks indeed causes great consternation for the child who must wear masks in school. I have wondered what kind of example those adults had as children made them think their adult behavior was appropriate. It does not need to be that way. Children have fun wearing masks playing make-believe characters. Wearing a mask during this COVID pandemic is a great way to teach children how to love their neighbor as themselves. We do have the right to free speech; we do not have the right to do it in an unresponsible manner.

Prayer: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer*.  Amen.

*Psalm 19:14

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.

Hell on Earth

Living in the Spirit

September 26, 2021

Scripture Reading: Mark 9:38-50

‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

‘For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.’ –Mark 9:42-50

As an adult, I have never been a student of the theology of eschatology–concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind. No doubt my reaction is the result of being overdosed with it as a child.

What I have discovered is that people are good at creating hell on earth for themselves and others. My local morning news almost daily opens with stories about who was killed in my city the night before. National news often reports on mass shootings of innocent people buying groceries, working at their jobs, or attending school. People in the streets constantly shout, “You cannot make me wear a mask, get a vaccination, or socially distance.” They are not saying aloud but are implying that they do not care who might get sick and die, including themselves, because they failed to do such simple things.

I recently discovered that in trying to be healthy, I had cut back too much on salt. I love salt, and it is effortless for me to overdo it. However, I started getting leg cramps, and when I reported that to my orthopedic surgeon, he asked me if I was eating enough salt. He could see no other reason for the cramps. No one in my entire life had ever asked me if I was getting enough salt. Then, I remembered that I had recently switched from drinking regular vegetable juice to low sodium. That change had lowered my salt intake enough to cause the leg cramps.

For our souls to survive and thrive in our world today, we must be sure we are intaking enough of God’s Love in our lives to sustain us through life’s challenges and allows us to live at peace with one another. We must pass the Love of God much more actively to all our neighbors to the ends of the earth.

Prayer: Lord, heal our souls and restore us through your Love to be people of peace. 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.

Moving Mountains

Living in the Spirit

September 3, 2021

Scripture Reading:
James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. –James :14-17

And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out?’ He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there”, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’ –Matthew 17:18-21

I am sure I have written about this before, but it is one of my greatest Aha moments, so forgive me for repeating myself. The first chapter of the Books of Acts is the equivalent of a modern church council meeting. I see it as the point at which the Disciples, recovering from the shock of the death and resurrection of Jesus, realized they had work to do. Having lost a member, Judas, they selected someone to take his place. The lot fell on Matthias. My Aha moment was what happened in chapter 2, the Holy Spirit arrived. Christ-followers are sent forth to move the mountains of brokenness, division, and injustice in the world—the moment the Disciples recognized that responsibility is when they realized that God was with them.

In times like these, we need to refresh our faith and get about the business of bringing wholeness, oneness, and justice to our world of woe. Fires are burning out of control on the USA’s west coast, while a hurricane of grand proportions ripped up through Louisiana, turned northeast, and devastated the east coast. In both instances, the descriptor I heard most was these calamities were made worse by climate change. Yet, climate change is the mountain we refuse to tackle because it is inconvenient to our lifestyles and our source of wealth.

The list is long, and the mountains are high. We faced a broken health care system while tackling a stubborn worldwide pandemic. One hundred and forty million USA residents live in poverty or are one health care crisis away from financial disaster. Terrorists are spawned from our out-of-balanced world. God is not a magic wand. God created us and equipped us to love one another and live in harmony. We did not get in this mess overnight and will not repair it quickly, but we have all we need to restore our souls and world.

Prayer: Heal our souls so that we answer your call to be movers of the mountains of brokenness, division, and injustice. 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.

Shared Resources

Living in the Spirit

August 31, 2021

Scripture Reading:

Isaiah 35:4-7a
Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
   ‘Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
   He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
   He will come and save you.’

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
   and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer,
   and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
   and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool,
   and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
   the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

When I moved to Denver in 1975, I took water for granted. Yes, I was coming from a state that the Dust Bowl had ravaged, but that had been several years earlier. We did have years with less rain than other years, but water was readily available. In Denver, I learned that the Colorado River was the primary source of water, and it must be protected; it had to last forever if the people of that region were to survive. Unfortunately, the news recently reported that the Colorado River was quickly receding and may soon be unable to preserve the life it had supported for so long. Scientists and others were searching for solutions while the people worked to conserve the water that they have. They may have learned from the history of the Dust Bowl that we must care for the earth if it is to sustain our lives.

The Dust Bowl resulted from a combination of climate change, several seasons of drought, and farming practices primarily designed to get maximum crop production. The flatlands of Oklahoma could produce much more wheat and other crops if the land were plowed in long straight rows. The farmers who settled in Oklahoma from areas that were not so flat took the fullest advantage of those straight rows. Thus, after many weeks without rain and when the wind came sweeping down the plain*, it picked up the topsoil and sent it flying to other parts of the country. Significant changes in farming practices were required to return the earth to fertile ground. Part of this was a lack of knowledge regarding farming on flat land and other terrains. Part was greed to produce as many crops as possible.

The above scripture reminds us that humans tend to see and hear what they want rather than face reality. The truth is, we must cohabit the world with one another, sharing its abundance and its natural wonders so that it can continue to sustain us so all can have enough of the necessities of life.

Prayer: Lord, help us see the reality before us and adjust our lives to assure that the earth can survive and all can have enough. Amen.

*Lyric from the song Oklahoma see at https://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/oklahoma/oklahoma.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.

Proactive Love

Living in the Spirit

August 28, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the g tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
“This people honors me with their lips,
   but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
   teaching human precepts as doctrines.”
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’ –Mark 7:1-8

The experts recommend washing hands and using hand sanitizer as a response to the COVID pandemic. The use of social distancing, mask-wearing, and hand washing has proved to be a boon in preventing other contagious diseases. I have bad sinuses, and sometime in March, when they are at their worst responding to allergens, I had few problems at all. I attributed that to the COVID precautions and will be wearing my masks this fall to protect from allergens. Many of the religious rituals like hand washing became standard practice probably because observant people recognized that disease was reduced when hands were washed. And that was a good thing. I have always thought the rules about not eating pork grew out of recognizing that eating pork killed people. We now know that it was not the pork but the worms, Trichinosis, inhabiting the pigs that were the deadly culprit. Changing cooking methods killed the worms and made pork safer to eat.

When we read this, most of us think we should wash our hands before we handle food. That is not Jesus’ point. Jesus wants us to be healthy but being precautious about germs or worms is not a substitute for the commandment of God. Jesus told us the overriding commandment of all is loving God and loving one’s neighbor as oneself. Indeed, one way we can love our neighbors is not to expose them to deadly diseases. God expects more out of us than obeying healthy habits or not, especially when it involves protecting our neighbors and ourselves from harm’s way.

Prayer: Lord, help us make your priorities our priorities. 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.

Parables

Living in the Spirit

June 13, 2021

Scripture Reading:

Mark 4:26-34
He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’

He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

We need not only to learn the wisdom shared in Jesus’s parables, but we also need to understand the power of a story taking us out of our comfort zone and enabling us to see the world around us in a clearer light. The prophet Nathan did this with King David when he challenged David about his relationship with Bathsheba. You might remember the story Nathan described a man with a pet sheep he dearly loved. His wealthy neighbor was planning a feast and ordered his servants to slaughter the pet sheep and roast it for the rich man’s guests. At hearing the story, David became outraged and demanded the rich man be punished. Nathan responded that the rich man was David and the sheep represented Bathsheba*.

We rarely know the inside story of people we judge to be out of sync with our values. Jesus saw people for who they could become. We are called to do the same. I love the report of Jesus healing the man described in the scriptures as demon-possessed. He was a nuisance to the neighborhood. After Jesus returned him to wholeness, the man begged to stay with Jesus. But Jesus said, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ This formerly demon-possessed man had a mighty witness to share among people who knew him well.

Prayer: God of Mercy, help to see and serve others as you do. Amen.

*See 2 Samuel 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.

Family of God

Living in the Spirit

June 6, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Mark 3:20-35

Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.’ And he replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’ –Mark 3:28-35

My first thought when I read this scripture is how did that make Mary feel. I have always thought James rather resented Jesus as Jesus was the eldest, but he left home to pursue his calling. If James was the second son, he probably took on the responsibility of that eldest son. Joseph disappears from the Biblical story after the trip to Jerusalem. (Luke 2:49) If Joseph died early, James might have been the direct support of his family. We learn later that James did come to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and became a leader in the Jerusalem church. None of the gospels go into any detail about the dynamics of this family, but Luke felt the need to share this incident with us.

I have always had a close relationship with my sister and brother. They are important to me. I have dear friends, too, but in this scripture, Jesus is instructing us to put everyone in the same category as mother or sister or brother. So, what does that mean? I am the youngest in my immediate family, so I have known them all since my birth. They, of course, remember things that happened that I do not. We probably expect more of family members than strangers, and disagreement may cause more pain. We can walk away from an acquaintance; our family is always our family. Probably more than anything else, we learn to accept family just the way they are, warts and all.

Perhaps these are keys to how we learn to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. C. S. Lewis tells the story in one of his books about a neighbor that just drove him crazy. He was trying to practice loving this neighbor by listening to her with all her grips and concerns, until one day, he suddenly realized he had learned to love her just as she was. Perhaps that is what Jesus wants us to do with all God’s children.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for inspiring Luke to share this story with us and guide us in applying it in our lives. Amen.

*I think it was The Four Loves

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 Self, Loving Others

Eastertide

May 12, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 1
Happy are those
   who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
   or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
   and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees
   planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
   and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

The wicked are not so,
   but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
   nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked will perish.

The Lord is our judge and the judge of everyone*. None of us receive that assignment.  Our job is to love God with all our hearts, strength, souls, and minds, and love our neighbors as we love ourselves**.  God instilled in us the ability to do our job when we were made in God’s image***, the image of the One who is love. God was magnanimous (devoid of meanness) enough to desire that we choose to love by giving us free will. Love is not love unless it is freely given.

When I read the first part of Psalm 1, I was uplifted to be reminded that even amid evil, God is with us, loves us, and provides for our wellbeing. As I read the end of the second verse where it says the way of the wicked will perish, I realized it does not say the wicked will die, but their evil ways will be destroyed. If the evil ways are gone, the wicked are no longer wicked.

In our world today, we seem to have a pandemic of hate for those who do not view the world exactly as we do, which plays out as being self-righteous rather than the righteousness of God. The sad thing is that self-righteousness is often an expression of feelings of inferiority. At times we humans need to establish our self-worth by downgrading the worth of others.  All humans are made in the image of God. None of us need to establish that we are better than anyone else. God is great enough to love every one of us just as we are as we strive with God’s guidance to fulfill God’s dreams established at our creation. God can and will help us shed any wickedness we might have picked up along the way if we seek God’s help.

Prayer: God of Justice and Mercy, forgive us when we do not love ourselves enough to understand what it means to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Help us see clearly when the questioning of our worth fogs our relationships.  Amen.

*John 5:22
**See Luke 10:27
***See Genesis 1:27

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.