Tag Archives: Oneness

God’s Beloved

Ordinary Time

January 11, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
   and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
   and her salvation like a burning torch.
The nations shall see your vindication,
   and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
   that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
   and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
   and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
   and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
   and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
   so shall your builder marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
   so shall your God rejoice over you.

I just arrived home from attending my brother-in-law’s funeral. He and my sister had been married for 58 years. She and their children carefully crafted a service I think Bill liked. He was a storyteller, and they had compiled short stories that described who he was and who he was not in some instances. Bill was rich in helping and welcoming others but was not much into pomp and circumstances. While he worked at various jobs, he was a farmer at heart. One of his grandsons just posted about the service on social media ending his comments by saying Now he is walking with God in heaven farming and taking care of cattle.

A lot of marriages do not last two years, much less 58. So, Isaiah is talking in the scripture above about the permanence of our relationship with God using as an example the marriage relationship that when well lived, in the good times and the bad, is an eternal source of joy and love to both God and us God’s beloved.

Prayer: Lord, we asked today for special blessings for my sister and her descendants as they grieve the loss of their beloved one. Help us always be a delight to you as we seek 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.

Endorsed

Ordinary Time

January 9, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’—Luke 3:21-22

Being hired by the State of Oklahoma in 1969 required political patronage, not by law but by politics. To my knowledge, I had none. The state also used a merit system, and my name was on the top of the list for the county and job title I was pursuing. A more politically astute person advised me to talk to my State Senator. So I did. I had never met him, but he was very friendly and received me well. When he heard my name, he asked if I was related to his friend Tiny Knott, and I said he was my uncle. His following comment left me speechless. The Senator said your grandfather was one of the finest men I ever knew. My grandfather died in 1928, years before I was born. The Senator and I  chatted briefly about my qualifications. He said he would see what he could do. I Ieft his office and drove the 20 miles from Stillwater to our farm. When I walked in the door, my mother said that a state official had just called and said I should report for work the next day.

Jesus’s baptism was his introduction to his ministry, and it required the public endorsement of God to get the attention of the people he was called to serve. I am a staunch supporter of the separation of church and state. However, Christ-followers would be naive if we did not recognize that politics is present in all forms of governments and organizations. We need to understand that being the Body of Christ in the world requires us to get and keep our priorities as outlined in the gospels and never to let greed or lust for power become our driving force. Those are hard temptations to resist, and thus, establishing a solid relationship with our God is the only way we can succeed.

Prayer: Lord, help all your followers stand and view the world from your higher ground. 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 a Neighbor

Epiphany

January 6, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Acts 8:14-17

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Remember the story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus used it to illustration the answer to the question, “who is my neighbor?” The Jewish people did not consider Samaritans as their equal and certainly not their neighbor, recognizing that neighbor means more than living on adjoining property. So Jesus was essentially saying that all people are to be treated like a good neighbors.

I have experienced living next door to a person who made it difficult to be neighborly at times. My house was being reroofed after a significant storm. My house is old and has an exceptionally steep roof, so it was no easy job. It was also over 100 degrees every day they worked. My doorbell rang and I met the roofing company manager who came to apologize to me for his workers’ throwing the old shingles on the ground in front of my house. I must have looked curious when I responded, asking him how else they could have gotten them down. It was his turn to look at me curiously. He said his office had gotten a call complaining about it, and he assumed it was from me. I assured him I had not made that call, but I was sure who did. I apologized for my neighbor’s inappropriate interference. I assured him I was very impressed with his staff. They were very polite and worked very hard, doing their best to be as tidy as possible.

People have not changed much in 2000 years. The story in Acts recorded above tells us that people can change if they are intentional, and their hearts are opened to the teachings of One, who called us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. We need to emphasize both parts of that advice. I believe much of the discord in today’s world results from not loving ourselves enough to love our neighbors. Somehow, most of us are taught directly or indirectly that we must be better than others to be people of worth. That is simply not true. All God expects of us is to be the best at being us when we do that, we can learn to understand others better and welcome them into our neighborhood ruled by God.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we fail to love ourselves so that we can love others without prejudice or privilege. 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.

Gather Us In

Christmastide

Christmastide

January 4, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 43:1-7

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth-everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

We who identify as the Body of Christ at work in the world today should identify with Isaiah’s message from God. We see a divided country, a divided world. Even the Body of Christ is splintered and broken. That is not new. Paul was negotiating the various beliefs about Christ within 20 years of his resurrection. Of one thing, I am sure God will prevail. Jesus called us to oneness, just as Isaiah was seeing the return of the Israelites to be one again. As we begin a new year, let each of us set goals to work toward Christ’s oneness among all people. An excellent place to start is with the hymn Gather Us In by Marty Haugen.

Here in this place new light is streaming
Now is the darkness vanished away
See in this space our fears and our dreamings
Brought here to you in the light of this day
Gather us in, the lost and forsaken
Gather us in, the blind and the lame
Call to us now and we shall awaken
We shall arise at the sound of our name
We are the young, our lives are a mystery
We are the old who yearn for your face
We have been sung throughout all of history
Called to be light to the whole human race
Gather us in, the rich and the haughty
Gather us in, the proud and the strong
Give us a heart so meek and so lowly
Give us the courage to enter the song
Here we will take the wine and the water
Here we will take the bread of new birth
Here you shall call your sons and your daughters
Call us anew to be salt for the earth
Give us to drink the wine of compassion
Give us to eat the bread that is you
Nourish us well and teach us to fashion
Lives that are holy and hearts that are true
Not in the dark of buildings confining
Not in some heaven light years away
But here in this place the new light is shining
Now is the kingdom, now is the day
Gather us in and hold us forever
Gather us in and make us your own
Gather us in, all peoples together
Fire of love in our flesh and our bones
Fire of love in our flesh and our bones

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!– Luke 13:34

Prayer: Gather us in, Lord, before it is too late. 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.

Songs of God

Christmastide

January 3, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Isaiah 43:1-7

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth-everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

Hymns from my youth played through my thoughts as I read this scripture. No Never Alone*, Jesus Loves the Little Children** (they are precious in his sight), and In Christ there is no east or west***. The first two songs are not in the current hymnal we use at my church. Music trends change just like everything else, but music plants the theology of our future in our lives as children that may stick with us longer than anything else we are taught. I think of my brother-in-law lying in ICE with COVID for 14 days before my sister could visit him in person. I thank God for the miracles of modern medicine but more importantly, I thank the Lord for being with him for those 14 days and every day since. Pictures of the children staving in Yemen flashed before me as I consider how we are all called to love the Little Children, all the children of the world. For the last several weeks, Oklahomans have opened their homes and their hearts to Afghans fleeing from the fall of their country as God gathers God’s children from the east and the west.

In Christ there is no east or west,
in him no south or north,
but one great fellowship of love
throughout the whole wide earth.

In Christ shall true hearts ev’rywhere
their high communion find.
His service is the golden cord
close binding humankind.

Join hands, then, people of the faith,
whate’er your race may be.
All children of the living God
are surely kin to me.

In Christ now meet both east and west,
in him meet south and north.
All Christly souls are joined as one
throughout the whole wide earth.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for the songs of my youth and the love you shared with all who sang them. Let them continue to guide us in our love. Amen.

* https://childbiblesongs.com/song-30-jesus-loves-the-little-children.shtml See at **https://hymnary.org/text/ive_seen_the_lightning_flashing

***https://hymnary.org/text/in_christ_there_is_no_east_or_west_oxenh

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.

Oneness not Sameness

Christmastide

December 29, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 147:12-20

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
   Praise your God, O Zion!
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
   he blesses your children within you.
He grants peace within your borders;
   he fills you with the finest of wheat.
He sends out his command to the Earth;
   his word runs swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
   he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down hail like crumbs—
   who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
   he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
He declares his word to Jacob,
   his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
   they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the Lord!

I learned the word ethnocentric in my first semester of college Sociology 103 course. The Greek word ethnos means “nation” or “people.” So, ethnocentricity shows itself in a lack of respect for other ways of life, and an ethnocentric person feels that his or her own nation or group is the cultural center of the world*. The above Psalm reeks with ethnocentricity from gated communities to expecting all who enter our nation must know and follow our laws. The challenge for those of us who live in the United States is that we are an amalgamation of every nation in the world to lesser and greater degrees. I was amazed the first year I lived in Colorado. I went to buy black-eyed peas for New Year’s dinner only to find out, I thought, they were sold out. When I inquired if there were any in the back, they assured me they did not stock them at all. What kind of year do they have if they do not eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s day?

I know that this is heresy for some, but I do not accept either the Doctrine of Discovery or Manifest Destiny as carried out in our country. God may well have allowed us to develop to demonstrate for the world that people can live together in diversity, even learn from each other’s traditions and values. Sameness is not Christ’s Oneness. The people of the United States need to take this role very seriously, for it is a fundamental value of God’s Kingdom on Earth.

Prayer: Gracious God, forgive us when we presume superiority, shine your light on our relationships with others so we can see how your Oneness works and strive to follow it. Amen.

* https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethnocentric

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.

One with God

Christmastide

December 28, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 31:10-14

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
   and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
   and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.’
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
   and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
   and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
   and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
   and they shall never languish again.
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,

   and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
   I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
   and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,

says the Lord.

Israel fell to the pandemics of greed and lust for power, ending in exile. Jeremiah tried to assure them that God remained with them even in their folly and would return them to wholeness if they turned back to the Lord. This is one of the sadist things I have ever written, particularly immediately following the celebration of the birth of Christ. Although Jeremiah’s Israel had only the promise of the Messiah’s coming, we were blessed to be the recipients of his teaching and modeling love and his gift of grace and love in his life, death, and resurrection.  We follow the wrong paths as our ancestors in faith did. They should have known better because God sent prophets to warn them. We definitely should know better since we have a living Savior to guide and direct us if we can just turn away from that which distracts and isolates us from the ways of God’s love.

We will never fully address pandemics like COVID or stubborn problems like poverty and climate change if we do not seek the cure for the pandemics of greed and lust for power in our world today. Many of our elected officials have been bought by wealthy donors, but we seem to admire them for it and envy their wealth. The entrepreneurs of greed and power work hard at dividing and conquering us to our detriment. Paul addressed such divisions in Galatians 3:28. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. That oneness in Christ Jesus was in his prayer before his crucifixion as recorded in John 17:22-23 as he talks to God, The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

We can blame the politicians and others for our plight, but we must remember we elected them or allowed them to be elected because we did not bother to vote. Therefore, they no longer need us to support them and are doing everything in their power to take voters that do not help them out of the elections. If we do not reclaim our democracy by voting, we will find ourselves in an exile of our own making. To do that, we need to restore our faith in God and learn to be one with all of God’s children.

Prayer: God, forgive us for being tricked by people who use us for their aggrandizement. Please lead us to your oneness and heal the prejudices that divide us.  Amen.

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

Communicating

Christmastide

December 26, 2021

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:41-52

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

I have a grandnephew who has never met a stranger. I walked down the nursing home hall where my mother lived with him once when he was eight. An elderly lady dressed in a nightgown using a cane walked toward us. She saw him and cried out, “It’s my grandson,” and headed straight for him. He hugged her around the waist and said, “How are you?” She was delighted. He indicated he had to leave and see someone else, and we continued to my mom’s room. I asked him who the lady was; he said he had never seen her before but thought she needed a hug from her grandson. Since he was not there, my grandnephew hugged her. I was not surprised at his behavior; I had a dad who had never met a stranger. His brother married a woman while stationed on the east coast during World War II. When he was called up to go overseas, he arranged for his wife to live with his mother. My mother picked her up at the train station and took her to my grandmother’s house, where the three women had a cordial, polite conversation for several hours but did not learn much about her each other. Later, when my dad joined them, my mother reported that Dad knew his new sister-in-law’s life story within the hour. Gregarious is probably the best word to describe this behavior, and I believe Jesus was gregarious from birth.

All are not born with that talent, and some people are not open to sharing so informally with others. The stories of Jesus indicate that from an early age, he read people well, was gregarious with those who welcomed it, and was more reserved with those who did not. In either case, he was a good listener and radared in his behavior that he cared about the people whose lives he touched. That included his parents when he realized at the age of 12 that he had caused them much distress, so he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them

We are called to develop good communications habits based on who we are and find the best ways to reach out to others using our God-given skills, sharing the love of God with them through our love.

Prayer: Lord, Help us develop the skills you have provided us and use them in 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.

Love Came Down at Christmas

Advent

December 24, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

What would life be like without God? We exalt God as being omnipotent—all-powerful, omniscient—all-knowing, and omnipresent—always with us. However, the overriding character that makes these descriptors meaningful is that God is love. We have seen examples of leaders who momentarily ruled as if they were greater than anyone else throughout history. Most turned their power into authoritarianism, using the people to enhance their wealth and power. God created the world based on the premise that it works best when God’s love for us is accepted, returned, and reflected outward toward all of God’s creation.

We get into trouble when we seek to possess the powers of God without that foundation of love. In everything we do, we must make a habit of considering whether our actions pass the test of love. Jesus, the Christ, was sent not only to teach us about love but to demonstrate it in all that he did. Understanding Jesus’s ways give us the tools we need to live and love as he does.

Love came down at Christmas,
love all lovely, Love divine;
Love was born at Christmas;
star and angels gave the sign.
Worship we the Godhead,
Love incarnate, Love divine;
worship we our Jesus,
but wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token;
love be yours and love be mine;
love to God and others,
love for plea and gift and sign*.

Prayer: Lord, help me develop the habit of testing my actions and words against the example of love Jesus set for all. Amen.

*Poem Love Came Down at Christmas by Christina Georgina Rossetti

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.

Work of Love

Advent

December 21, 2021

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10

How beautiful upon the mountains
   are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
   who announces salvation,
   who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
   together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
   the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
   you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
   he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
   before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
   the salvation of our God.

A wood stove heated our home when I was a child. One of my first jobs on the farm was to carry an arm full of kindling to the house while my Dad had an armload of heavy wood cut to the size that would fit in the stove. I remember well my Dad unbuttoning the sleeves of his shirt and rolling them up his arm to give him more power to cut the long logs into stove-size fuel. He had muscular arms and raised the ax high above his head, bringing it down in a swift and powerful chop. The phrase to roll up one’s sleeves and get busy stems from such work. Isaiah may be using that analogy when he writes that The Lord has bared his holy arm, indicating he has done, is doing God’s work and perhaps raising the question, are we?

God did not send Jesus to save God’s people to sit on our laurels—to be satisfied with past success and do nothing to achieve further success. God had a definite plan when the world was created based on love and interdependence. When God’s people resist doing their part, God sent prophets to remind us who we are and what our purpose is. God finally sent God’s Son as the ultimate gift of grace and salvation.

I like the imagery of rolling up one’s sleeves and getting to work for those who want to rest on laurels. The Lord set the example for us when he bared his holy arm. Isaiah might not have known how prophetic he was when he wrote this poem, but one cannot help but envision Jesus’s bare arms stretched on a cross on our behalf. Jesus called us as disciples to continue the work that God expected for us. As we celebrate such a gift as this, let us roll up our sleeves and love the world into becoming the Kingdom God desired.

Prayer: Lord, help us see where love is needed and guide us in filling the gaps.  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.