Tag Archives: Oneness

Welcoming the Beloved Community

Living in the Spirit

September 13, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 98:1-5
O sing to the Lord a new song,
   for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
   have gained him victory.
The Lord has made known his victory;
   he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
   to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
   the victory of our God.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
   break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
   with the lyre and the sound of melody.

For some time now, even in the chaos of USA politics, senseless war, and uncontrolled climate change, I have felt that we are entering a new age. Modernity, largely connected to technological advancements, is being spoken of in the past tense. I do not follow astrology or geology or any of the other -oligies used to describe our eras. I identify more with Isaiah, Amos, or Jerimiah’s hope for the aftermath of exile. Considering the way, we as a people have been acting, we could well be headed deeper into exile. It is our choice because God blessed us with free will, but I sense that at least a remnant of people is longing for the Beloved Community, the Kingdom of God, and that also is a choice. We still can avoid exile.

We do need to sing a new song, and we need to encourage others to join that choir. We might start by exploring what the Beloved Community is.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts and minds to the development of the Beloved Community. 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.

Interdependence

Living in the Spirit

September 10, 2022

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

My brother and I talk via phone most Saturdays. One Saturday morning in the spring during calving season, the first thing he said after hello was that he had just come in from walking the pasture as one of his new calves was not with its mother, and he could not find it. The next week he reported that he had not found it after a few days fearing the worst had happened, but he kept looking, and on the third or fourth day he walked out to the barnyard, and there was the mother cow and the calf together. All seemed well. My brother is a retired lineman, but in his heart, he has always been a farmer. He lives on our family farm. We had a small dairy when I was a child, and my mom always had a beautiful garden. My first job was feeding the chickens and gathering eggs. People who grow up on a farm get a degree in reality about life and death, about the necessity of doing the work in the rain or sunshine on a regular schedule, and that all people and animals matter–good life lessons for anyone. I was also the kid who turned every calf into a pet and ran crying and yelling behind the pickup when dad took a steer to the butcher, “Please do not kill Smokie; I love Smokie.” I also ate the roasts and steaks and hamburgers, which dad picked up a few days later.

Jesus’ audience was well acquainted with the importance of a missing lamb. God created an interdependent world where all things matter. We are charged with the responsibility of being the best person we can be as God created us to be, but also, being engaged in supporting others as they fulfill their purpose in God’s Beloved Community.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see the beauty of your image in each person we encounter as we work to live 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.

Serving God by Welcoming Others

Living in the Spirit

September 8, 2022

Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 1:12-17

I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

I, too, am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service. I truly do not know where I would be without the love of God, the model of Jesus, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  I am a cradle Christian and reading this scripture made me wonder if I take for granted God’s love. I think we can, and we should take God for granted, but we must do that with humility and the knowledge that we are responsible servants of God’s call to share that love with everyone. As we grow into adulthood, we must choose to accept that responsibility and claim our own path to service.

All people were not born into the faith, and even those who were born in a faith-practicing family may not have experienced God’s love in a manner that welcomed them into his service. It breaks my heart when I read about or meet someone who has withdrawn from their faith community or worse been asked to leave it because they do not meet that community’s standards for serving God. I do not know of a time in my life when our faith communities needed to turn around from the ways that drive us away from loving like God and reclaim that which God is ready and eager to heal making us all whole so that we can love all of God’s children made in God’s image.

Prayer: Lord, make us whole, make us one, make us just. 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.

Brittle Pride

Living in the Spirit

August 23, 2022

Scripture Reading: Sirach 10:12-18

The beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord;
   the heart has withdrawn from its Maker.
For the beginning of pride is sin,
   and the one who clings to it pours out abominations.
Therefore the Lord brings upon them unheard-of calamities,
   and destroys them completely.
The Lord overthrows the thrones of rulers,
   and enthrones the lowly in their place.
The Lord plucks up the roots of the nations,
   and plants the humble in their place.
The Lord lays waste the lands of the nations,
   and destroys them to the foundations of the earth.
He removes some of them and destroys them,
   and erases the memory of them from the earth.
Pride was not created for human beings,
   or violent anger for those born of women.

Pride is defined as haughtiness*

Pride is inordinate self-esteem**

Pride is the first of the seven deadly sins. We today use the word more loosely. How many times have you heard someone say, I take pride in introducing our next speaker? I do not think they are being haughty. They are implying that they gain self-esteem by the mere opportunity to introduce someone whom they hold in high esteem.  In reading this scripture we must not substitute wholesome self-esteem for the pride used in the above scripture.

King Solomon is credited with saying Pride comes before the fall.  (See Book of Proverbs, 16:18) I think he is talking about pride that one has when one thinks both that they can never make a mistake or admit it or that they are better than everyone else because of their accomplishments. Brittle pride will get us into trouble every time.

One of my current pet peeves is getting an email taking a poll on whether I approve of a certain candidate. I have no right to approve or disapprove of any person God created and God created all people. What they could ask is whether I approve of the candidate’s position on certain issues. I think the subtle difference in the two questions is one of the major problems in our political systems today. We vote for people for the wrong reasons.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when our self-esteem rises to a state of brittle pride. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/1346.htm

**https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/Pride

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.

Cracked Cisterns

Living in the Spirit

August 22, 2022

Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 2:4-13

Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:
What wrong did your ancestors find in me
   that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?
They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
   who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
   in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
   in a land that no one passes through,
   where no one lives?’
I brought you into a plentiful land
   to eat its fruits and its good things.
But when you entered you defiled my land,
   and made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
   Those who handle the law did not know me;
the rulers transgressed against me;
   the prophets prophesied by Baal,
   and went after things that do not profit.

Therefore once more I accuse you,
says the Lord,
   and I accuse your children’s children.
Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
   send to Kedar and examine with care;
   see if there has ever been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
   even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
   for something that does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
   be shocked, be utterly desolate,
says the Lord,
for my people have committed two evils:
   they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living water,
 and dug out cisterns for themselves,

cracked cisterns
   that can hold no water.

While this scripture was written sometime between 626 and 586 B.C, it could have been written yesterday as it describes well the turning away of God’s people today.

But my people have changed their glory for something that does not profit.  . . . and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.

I invite you to join me in reading it, and considering how the world’s ways distract us from what is really important. Some people are profiting from our getting caught in the chaos they create, not just to our detriment but to the realization of the Beloved Community we are called to be.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we get caught in the world’s distractions. Surround us with your love so we might be examples of your love for 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Initiating Love

Living in the Spirit

August 21, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Luke 13:10-17

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

When we get caught up in following rules as our primary purpose in life, we have lost the reason for the rule. Rules are established to smooth the way to an outcome. They should never be the outcome itself.  We are called to love one another and be of service to each other. I love the example Jesus sets for us of initiating contact with the woman bent over and unable to stand up straight without her having to ask for help. Making such an approach required tact and a genuine interest in the person needing help. It also means we do not push our values on another. When I supervised direct social work years ago, I received a call from an irate woman who had been among the members of a Sunday school class that had provided Christmas gifts for a needy family. The woman had driven by that family’s house and had seen the little girl who received a dress as her gift. She was playing in the dirt wearing the dress “just ruining it.”  The woman said she would never donate like that again. I told her we appreciated her gift and were sorry she felt that way. I did wonder if any of her children had ever had a dress they loved so much they never wanted to take it off.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for setting the example of giving of ourselves without expecting anything in return and perhaps like the bent-over woman changing a person’s life for the good by one simple act of 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.

Truth

Living in the Spirit

August 19, 2022

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 12:18-29

See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.’ This phrase ‘Yet once more’ indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire. –Hebrews 12:25-29

Truth exists. I have read descriptions of modernity as the state of being current, or up with the times. This may contribute to the downplaying of history current in our world. Now is all that matters, as tomorrow everything may change. The implication is that cultural changes are driving us. Today’s cell phone is out-of-date tomorrow. Truth in modernity thus is as malleable as we want it.

The reshaping of truth, however, is not modern. It is at least 2,000 years old. In the story of Jesus’ trial interview with Pilate, Jesus is quoted as saying, ‘My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.’ Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’ To which Pilate responds by asking, ‘What is truth?’  (John 17:36-38)

We are being shaken to our core today with the chaos of a divide and conquer war being waged to separate us from one another. Yet we are called to be one by Jesus to love and care for one another and not to be ruled by the principalities and powers of a greed-driven world.

let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1b-2

Prayer: Lord, Grant us the courage to serve you more nearly. 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.

We Need Gilead’s Balm

Living in the Spirit

August 13, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:49-56

‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son
   and son against father,
mother against daughter
   and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
   and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’ –Luke 12:49-53

I think I have shared this story before but at times it bares repeating. I heard Dr. Fred Craddock preach several years ago about the French word Ennui as a descriptor and disrupter of faith at times. We are living in such a time as this. Ennui* has been adopted into the English language and means a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction: languor or emptiness of spirit.

We see it in many places. Voting participation is at a very low point. Having been swamped with dark advertisements among the various campaigns, I do not believe any of them. Church participation is down. People describe themselves as spiritual, not religious. Jesus is quoted as saying he came to light a fire in our world and indeed, he did. The history of God in our world seems cyclical and we humans seem to need such attention-getting action to set us back on our foundation. Climate change is literally lighting fires all around us calling us to be responsible for the earth God created for us. COVID opened the windows to the failures of our health care system. The death of Breanna Taylor and others opened our eyes to the scourge of discrimination in our land. We must work to heal these wounds of our society as we strive for wholeness, oneness, and justice in our country and world.

There is a balm in Gilead
to make the wounded whole,
there is a balm in Gilead
to heal the sin-sick soul.

Sometimes I feel discouraged
and think my work’s in vain,
but then the Holy Spirit
revives my soul again**.

Prayer: Amen.

*https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/ennui

**Refrain and the first verse of There Is a Balm in Gilead. See at https://hymnary.org/text/sometimes_i_feel_discouraged_spiritual

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.

Love as We Love Ourselves

Living in the Spirit

July 31, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

I feel like a broken record as I say the same thing, in many ways, all the time. I wonder if Jesus experienced the same response. He told us that we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves. I finally realized that we probably are loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. The problem is we do not love ourselves as God loves us. That results in our need to flaunt outward signs of who we are–fancy clothing, better homes, flashier cars whatever—because we do not love the person God created us to be. We each possess some quality that is needed to realize, the organic beloved community that Jesus visualized as the Kingdom of God.

A man in my church, Lee Bacher, died recently at the age of 98. He embodied the fulfilled person who knew God’s love and knew how to share it with others. I did not know this until the funeral, but he was apparently very stingy when it came to buying anything for himself. The suit he had was perfectly good. I knew him as one of the most generous men in our congregation. Not just with money but with his time and energy. He was a youth sponsor as a young adult and many of the youth whose lives he touched attended his memorial service. He served in most roles as an active church member. After retirement, he volunteered at the food bank once a week, and up to just weeks, before he died, he arrived at the church each week to fold the bulletins for the Sunday service.

Take some time this week to ponder and realize how much God loves you. Let it seep through each of your pores until it has no choice but to flow through you to the rest of God’s children.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for role models like Lee Bacher. 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.

Doing Justice

Living in the Spirit

July 27, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 49:1-12
Hear this, all you peoples;
   give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
both low and high,
   rich and poor together.
My mouth shall speak wisdom;
   the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
I will incline my ear to a proverb;
   I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.

Why should I fear in times of trouble,
   when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,
those who trust in their wealth
   and boast of the abundance of their riches?
Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,
   there is no price one can give to God for it.
For the ransom of life is costly,
   and can never suffice,
that one should live on forever
   and never see the grave.

When we look at the wise, they die;
   fool and dolt perish together
   and leave their wealth to others.
Their graves are their homes forever,
   their dwelling-places to all generations,
   though they named lands their own.
Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
   they are like the animals that perish.

Benjamin Franklin said, Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes. I understand that to mean that our democracy’s success lies in our hands and our ability to carry it forward into a constantly changing world. I hear daily news reporters asking the question what is the President going to do about this crisis? How will Congress solve a specific issue on which they are deadlocked?  We must let our elected officials know where we stand on the problems we face today. More than that we need to delve into the issue and understand the ramifications of our positions and not just follow the crowd responding to hot-button issues that are distractions to dealing with serious problems.

Prayer: Lord, help us understand our role as citizens working for the justice you have called us to foster. 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.