Tag Archives: Nurture

Restoring Wholeness

Jesus’ Ministry
January 22, 2019

Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ –Nehemiah 8:9-10

Our people are our most valuable resource. This fact dawned on me some time ago when I was listening to politicians and others talk about saving what they deemed our most valuable resources which in Oklahoma can be designated as oil and natural gas, wind, cattle, wheat, and so on but I never heard anyone recognize that our people are our most valuable resource and are ultimately responsible for reaping the potential of all these other resources.

It makes a difference. When something is valued it is protected and nourished toward the goal of productive investment of its potential. We do not treat people in that manner. We punish them for not working to our expectations, we punish them for getting sick, we punish them for crimes. We do not work to restore them to wholeness like we do oil and gas, wind, cattle, and wheat when problems arise that reduce their output. Why is that?

Nehemiah says something very interesting in the above scripture in the sentence Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared. He is saying nurture those who do not provide for their own needs.  Surely some of the exiles returning to Jerusalem had given up and did not know how to start over. Is Nehemiah’s words a call to restore people to wholeness who have lost their way?

Malnourished children do not learn well. Sick people do not work well. People without quality routine health care seek emergency room help as a last resort raising the cost of health care for everyone. Removing people who commit non-violent crimes from society for years and mixing them with violent people with little if any services to reclaim their potential is a formula for increasing criminal behavior. Failure to address mental health issues fosters dependence rather than independence.

Early intervention to identify problems and appropriate quality education for every child is primary in helping children reach their full potential. Health care for all including mental health coverage provides for a ready and able work force. Restorative criminal justice holds people accountable for their behavior by refocusing them on how to make the most out of their skills and talents.

Prayer: Lord, show us ways we can restore wholeness to the broken people of our world. 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.

Providing Nurture

Hannah and SamuelAdvent
December 21, 2015

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26

Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod. His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, ‘May the Lord repay you with children by this woman for the gift that she made to the Lord’; and then they would return to their home. –1 Samuel 2:18-20

I got my first store-bought dress when I was seven years old. My mother was an excellent seamstress, actually a tailor. She loved to sew, but the year I was in the second grade, when we baby boomers were flooding schools throughout this country, my hometown school was experiencing a teacher shortage and my Mom was a teacher. The school asked her to consider helping them out and she did that one year. The dress was my Easter dress and I guess the workload at the school and caring for a family took more time than she had to make dresses so my sister and I got matching dresses we bought already made. I thought that my dress was pretty hot stuff. The next store bought dress I had I bought myself when I was sixteen and working. Even though I enjoyed the experience of going to a store and getting a dress that first time, I learned quickly that the quality of the clothing purchased at a store didn’t come close to my mother’s personally tailored clothing. After I graduated from college and went to work, I actually paid her for several years to make my clothing.

Hannah, Samuel’s mother, was most likely a skilled seamstress like my mother. There is a lot in this scripture that is untold. Did they only see him once a year when they made a special trip to the temple as Jesus did when he was twelve? How did she know how much he had grown in a year? And surely, even if he wore the same robe every day he would, as a child, have outgrown it long before another year came along.

This account was written by an author who was probably more impressed by the love of a mother than he was concerned about the details of the action. This mother had been willing to give her son up to God but continued to nurture and care for him as a parent. Children need both, the nurture of loving parents and the care of a community of faith.

Prayer: Lord, bless all the little children that come unto you and bless their parents and the whole cloud of witnesses who take the time and make the effort to assure that they experience a sampling of your love through them. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Becoming One

God's childrenAdvent
December 14, 2015

Scripture Reading: Micah 5:2-5a

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
   who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
   one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
   from ancient days.

Therefore he shall give them up until the time
   when she who is in labor has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return
   to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
   in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
   to the ends of the earth;
and he shall be the one of peace.

 If I counted right, I have 42 first cousins on my father’s side of the family some of them around my father’s age. I have two first cousins on my mother’s side. Therein, lies the difference in a larger clan and a smaller clan. Funny, because I was raised nearer to my father’s family, I know that massive flock of 42 better than the two from another state. They lived about three times the same distance from where my family lived as Nazareth is from Bethlehem. We, of course drove, rather than walked or road on a donkey, to visit. We made the trip a couple of times each year, often at Christmas. My Dad’s clan rented one of the buildings at the fair ground for its family reunion. My Mom’s family fit nicely in my grandmother’s house. Bethlehem was the ancestral home of King David and it is surprising that it was a small clan. How many wives did Solomon have?

Micah is taking us back to the roots of Israel scattered throughout the known world described as lost tribes. Micah foresees the children of God reunited as one again and led by one coming from a very small clan, one without a natural force of relatives from which to form a mighty army. Micah understands the breadth of God’s peace and nurture as the strength of God’s people. We should also.

Prayer: Lord, help us invest our lives in being a part of your peace and your nurture as we welcome all of your children to your reunion. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

The Breath of Love

breath-of-lifeLiving in the Spirit
July 29, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 51:6-12

You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.  

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. –Psalm 51:6-12

What is a clean heart? In the 21st century, we have available to us very graphic, real illustrations of arteries clogged with plaque blocking the flow of life-giving blood bringing the oxygen to sustain the pumping of the heart. Such knowledge was not available to the poets of three thousand years ago. The wisdom of keeping ones heart healthy was known. While we certainly still use the metaphor, the idea of the heart in our times is probably more that of a hardworking muscle than the seat of love it was to for the author of this Psalm. It is important that this flip-flop of knowledge does not distract from its truth.

God did plant the seed of love deep within us and we are responsible in communion with God to nurture it and help it grow throughout our entire being beyond our arms and legs back to God and to all our neighbors. When we let the plaque of separation from God build up in our being we block the flow of love so vital for our own wholeness, the very source of our oneness, and essential for justice throughout our world.

Just as we watch our diets and exercise to take care of our physical hearts, we must feed our souls with spiritual disciplines and exercise our love until it is as normal a part of our being as it is to take in the breath of life.

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.

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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Everyone Deserves to be Fed

Living in the Spirit
August 3, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Matthew 14:13-21 

When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. — Matthew 14:15-20

Ever been asked to do the impossible? How about being told to feed 5000 men plus women and children and you haven’t even been to the grocery store this week? This is what Jesus expected of the disciples, You feed them. I have heard sermons of every type preached on explaining this scripture.  One in particular is that when the two loaves and fishes were located everyone in the crowd started showing that they had food too. When all was shared there were even leftovers. I agree, that is a good lesson and certainly fits the message of Jesus, but I rather prefer not to waste time trying to figure out the unexplainable. Delving deeper into the truth of the story is more meaningful to me.

So what are the truths in this story:

  • Jesus had a need for time to be alone with God. Those precious moments are probably the primary reason he could be totally present with the crowds that followed him. Here he sets a good example for us.
  • Everyone deserves to be fed. I believe that includes social, mental, physical, and spiritual nurturing. Feeding the hungry is a primary function of the Body of Christ.
  • We might be surprised at the resources we have at hand to help us deal with any situation, if we allow God to open our eyes to them. The story of feeding the 5000 is similar to the story in 2 Kings when Elijah enables a widow to pay her mortgage by asking her neighbors to loan her as many vessels has they could to hold oil.  When the pots and pans were gathered they contained enough oil to sell and raise the money need to save her home. Most of us have some pots and pans.
  • Communing with God fills us up and makes us whole. When we are whole, we have the abundant resources to make other whole.

Prayer: Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven, Feed me till I want no more; Feed me till I want no more.* Amen.

*From Guide, me O Thou Great Jehovah by William Williams

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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Sunrise

Living in the Spirit
July 29, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Genesis 32:22-31 

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.’ The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. — Genesis 32:30-31

Jacob’s new name, Israel, literally means “who prevails with God”.  By dealing with God, Jacob had become the person God knew Jacob could be, wanted him to be. Now named Israel, he even has a permanent limp to remind him of this wrestling match. “Peniel” means face of God. “Penuel” is the name of the actual location. While they essentially mean the same thing, perhaps the writer chose the different spellings here to suggest that one never leaves an encounter with God. It travels with him or her, if he or she accepts God’s presence.

What do we do after such an encounter with God? Our scripture suggests a new day dawned for Israel when it says that the sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel where he had struggled with God. It implies Israel accepted God’s presence in his life. This is not a goal attained; it marks a new beginning. For Christians that new beginning is becoming a vital and productive part of the Body of Christ bringing hope and love to a fragmented world.

Jesus also talked about the impact of a risen sun. ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow…Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. (Matthew 13:3b, 5-6) Jesus calls us to sink our roots deeply into the rich soil of his love and follow his way in functioning as the Body of Christ. Our wholeness in Christ is the beginning of wholeness in a fragmented world, but we must be able to stand the heat. The nurture of God through Christ is what makes that possible.

Prayer: Clear the rocks from my path, O Lord, grow my roots deep into your love and let your wellspring surge through me as a conduit of your love to others. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Nurturing Children

Living in the Spirit
June 29, 2014

 Scripture Reading: Matthew 10:40-42

and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’ — Matthew 10: 42  

When you read this scripture notice the tit for tat that Jesus weaves through his instruction:

Welcoming Me—Welcomes God
Welcome a prophet in the name of a prophet—receive a prophet’s reward
Welcome a righteous person in the name of a righteous person—receive a righteous person’s reward

But note, the last one is different:

Give even a cup of water to a child in the name of a disciple—the children will not lose their reward

We are all as Disciples of Christ called to take responsibility for nurturing children and the reward for doing that is the children themselves. Water in some form or another is the one thing that is absolutely necessary for life. Children are the one thing that is absolutely necessary for the continuation of humanity. Yet:

  • 22% of children in the U.S. live in families that are considered officially poor.—National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University, nccp.org
  • Of all the 4th graders in the US, 1/3 could not read this sentence proficiently.—studentsfirst.org
  • A child is abused or neglected every 47 seconds. –childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/2014-soac.pdf
  • 8.2% of youth 12-17 experience depressive episodes each year.—childstate.gov

This is just a brief list of statistics. For more information see the various websites that are noted above.

We need to take Jesus plea for children to heart and give our children lives worth living.

Prayer: You sent your son into the world as a tiny baby and entrusted him to Mary and Joseph to nurture and love. Following in their footsteps, make us nurturers of all the children of the world. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.