Tag Archives: Oneness

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.

God’s Heirs

Living in the Spirit

May 27, 2021

Scripture Reading:

Romans 8:12-17

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

I dubbed my mother the great egalitarian many years ago when I first became acquainted with the word. I do not ever remember calling her that to her face, but my brother and sister agreed it was an apt descriptor. Treating others equally was in her bones. I think it came directly from the Bible, which she studied ardently. She acknowledged and practiced the words of Paul that we are children of God and thus all heirs.

Besides the world and all that is in it, what have we inherited from God? First and foremost, we have received the gift of unconditional love. Having been made in the image of God, we, too, can love unconditionally. God with us in the person of Jesus modeled for us God’s love even going to the cross. In creating each of us in God’s image, we were given skills to make God’s world a place of shalom–completeness, soundness, welfare, peace. We, in turn, must want that type of existence and dedicate our lives to attaining it.

That sounds cut and dried, but it is not. To maximize our skills and contribution to making that vision a reality, we must not only do all we can to realize God’s Kingdom but also help everyone reach their highest potential as we work together. And that is the truth my mother gleaned from her Bible study.

Prayer: Lord, help us dedicate our lives to reaching our potential while enabling all to meet theirs. 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.

Angel Unaware

Eastertide

May 20, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Romans 8:12-17
So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. God knows who God’s children are. We were not given the job of that discernment. Thus, we are called to love ourselves and all others. Hebrews 13:2 says it this way: Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. The Vatican amplified this idea with the Angels Unawares sculpture by Timothy Schmalz installed in St. Peter’s Square on September 29, 2019, the 105th World Migrant and Refugee Day.

Dale Evans’ book Angel Unaware taught me about welcoming all people as children of God. Dale Evans and Roy Rogers were movie and TV stars who had a baby they named Robin. Robin was born with Downs Syndrome. Rather than sending her to a home for children with special needs, they chose to raise her at home and ended up changing the way all children with disabilities are welcomed. Robin died when she was two years old, and Dale Evans poured her grief into the writing of this book. She wrote it from Robin’s perspective, looking down from heaven telling God about how she had completed her mission of love. That love continues to be shared here in Oklahoma City at the Dale Rogers Training Center.

Paul reminds us in this scripture that God is the final judge, and our job is to follow God’s example of loving one another until love rules the world. Loving-kindness can restore people to wholeness, and sharing it usually grows our ability to love.

Prayer: Lord, teach us the truth of Robin, whose short sojourn in life spread love throughout our land. Please help us to do the same. 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 and Consequences

Eastertide

May 16, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 17:6-19
‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

I find myself wondering whether what I write is understood the way I mean it. I have learned the hard way that I should never respond to a social media post with a correction of a statement someone had made, even one I considered a neutral issues, that was not the way the authors perceived them. I appreciate someone calling my attention to a typo or a wrong fact. I am learning the hard way that in our society today, truth is flexible. What does Jesus mean when he prays Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

To sanctify means to make holy. That tells me that we must delve deeply into the word of God, asking God’s guidance in understanding. It also means we must take truth seriously and live with mercy in our hearts.  

I would be true, for there are those who trust me;
I would be pure, for there are those who care;
I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;
I would be brave, for there is much to dare,
I would be brave, for there is much to dare.

I would be friend of all, the foe, the friendless;
I would be giving, and forget the gift;
I would be humble, for I know my weakness;
I would look up, and laugh and love and lift,
I would look up, and laugh and love and lift.

Prayer: Lord, guide me as I try to communicate what I perceive as truth that others do not. Help all your followers as we dialogue about your word, listen and learn, and share as we try to discern the source of differences on our way to truth. Amen.

Hymn I Would Be True by H. A. Walter see at https://hymnary.org/text/i_would_be_true_for_there_are_those

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.

Whose Testimony Do We Follow?

Eastertide

May 14, 2021

Scripture Reading:

1 John 5:9-13
If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Much chatter in our lives makes the discernment of what is of God and what is not hard. We fall prey to being manipulated by someone else’s ideology rather than identifying God’s truth. Messages are honed to target our areas of vulnerability. One word or image hits us like a tiny shock wave designed to enhance our support of or discredit a product, an issue, or a candidate. Some persons have very successfully adopted this form of communication in selling their understanding of God’s message. How do we discern the testimony of God?

One of the most powerful messages we receive is that we are not good enough. Whether we are told we need whiter teeth or a bigger house or more money, we are constantly barraged by media offering ways to improve. The problem that results from being persuaded that we are not good enough is that humans tend to compare ourselves with others so that if we think we are better than someone else, that somehow raises our good-enough status. In our heart of hearts, where God’s testimony rest, we know that is not true, and we think less of ourselves for it. God’s testimony at creation was that God looked on humankind and called it good, which is true today as much as it was on the first day.

Humans tend to cluster in groups of like-mindednesses. The strength of one’s group enhances the power of influence. Whole societies develop based on similarities of human testimony. Such groups choose to integrate their testimonies for the betterment of all or battle for dominance, with one group pressing its testimony on others. As I write this, the Israelis and the Palestinians are bombarding each other toward determining authority.

God’s testimony in Jesus Christ is that we are to share our witness to the world wrapped in God’s love and the love of one another.

Prayer: Lord, as we are called to be witnesses of your love, instill in us the wisdom to live your love in ways that open doors of understanding and pathways to 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.

Storms of Life

Eastertide

MIDWEST CITY, UNITED STATES: Homes outside the direct path of a tornado (top) remain intact while those in the path are destroyed in Midwest City, Ok, 05 April 1999, two days after tornadoes ripped through this area killing more than 40 people and injuring hundreds. AFP PHOTO Tannen MAURY (Photo credit should read TANNEN MAURY/AFP/Getty Images)

May 5, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 98

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. Psalm 98:1-3

The 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado was a large and exceptionally powerful F5 tornado in which the highest wind speeds ever measured globally were recorded at 301 ± 20 miles per hour (484 ± 32 km/h) by a Doppler on Wheels (DOW) radar*.

Living in Oklahoma for the bulk of my life, I am well acquainted with tornadoes. When I was a child, there were few reliable early warning systems. My dad would stand on the porch with eyes on the sky and his ear to the weather forecaster who was doing the best he or she could alert us about coming danger. Dad would at times turn to my mother and say, “Get the kids. We had better go to the cellar.” We were whisked away, often in the pouring rain and high winds, and huddle together in our cellar. Our hearing was our only measure of and all clear. Most nights, we would climb up the steps into gentle rain or a sky full of stars and the moon. That memory probably came to my mind because the anniversary of the May 3 Bridge Creek-Moore tornado has been all over the news. Thank God we do have better warning systems now. Even so, 36 people were killed in that tornado, and over 500 more were injured. Damage estimates exceeded a billion dollars.

Life during the COVID pandemic has been somewhat like huddling together in that cellar only with masks and no social distancing. Glimmers of hope that we are reaching herd immunity soon make me think we will climb those steps and appreciate a beautifying world again.  First, we must all do our part to get vaccinated and follow healthy practices until we get an all-clear. Second, we must teach what we learned through this experience and make the changes needed to ensure that such a pandemic never catches us off guard and unprepared again. We also must recognize the worth of every person in our society—from medical staff to janitors, researchers to cashiers as we work toward a world where everyone has enough to meet their basic needs, including quality, accessible, and affordable health care.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your presence with us through the storms of life. Continue to guide us as we seek more and better ways to care for all your children.  Amen.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Bridge_Creek%E2%80%93Moore_tornado

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.

Seeking Clarity

Eastertide

April 28, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 22:25-31
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
   my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
   those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
   May your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth shall remember
   and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
   shall worship before him.
For dominion belongs to the Lord,
   and he rules over the nations.

To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
   before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
   and I shall live for him.
Posterity will serve him;
   future generations will be told about the Lord,
and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
   saying that he has done it.

The first words of Psalm 22 are well known to many of us, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? as one of Jesus’ seven last statements made from the cross.  In quoting this text, Jesus recognized the cost of his quest, the above later verses in Psalm 22 describe the vision for which he came and gave his life. God is with us; the poor shall be fed, all nations shall worship together, the dead shall be raised. The coming of the Kingdom of God is a done deal for Jesus had accomplished his mission.

I love John’s way of stating this reality in a world that seems to be in utter chaos,

His disciples said, ‘Yes, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech! Now we know that you know all things, and do not need to have anyone question you; by this we believe that you came from God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’ John 16:29-33

Do we live as if we believe that Jesus Christ has conquered the world? What is our concept of such an idea? I fear we in the USA envision the Kingdom of God as a place where we will have our cake and eat it, too—some kind of special privilege. Jesus never said that. He said that God’s Kingdom is a place where everyone is loved and loves everyone else. All have enough of the necessities for life and the opportunity to become fully the people God created them to be living in peace with one another. The question we need to ask ourselves do we share that vision?

Prayer: Lord, clarify my aspirations as a citizen of your Kingdom. Help me see clearly when my desires are more the desires of this world than your Kingdom. Refocus my life to be more in sync with your righteousness and justice. 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.

Studying Together

Eastertide

April 26, 2021

Scripture Reading: Acts 8:26-40

Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. –Acts 8:26-31

Bible study with a group is enlightening. In some instances, we gain confirmation about what we understand. At other times, we gain new insights that might never have crossed our minds. Sometimes when we see things differently, we are forced to dig deeper and test our long-held beliefs. I do not do well in study groups where a leader tells me what to think, and in that person’s opinion, it is the only way to discern what the scripture was saying.

Thus, I love the Ethiopian’s invitation to share in discussion about what he was reading from the book of Isaiah. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.

You may recall from the stories of Solomon that the relationship between Israel and Ethiopia was ancient, and obviously, Hebrew texts were shared between them. We, too, are called to dialogue with others to share our understanding of God at work in the world from the beginning of time through the New Testament, continuing to God’s presence in our lives today.  We learn and grow in our faith as we delve into the written history of God and the living Word of God in our lives today through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Lord, guide us as we study together to gain a greater understanding of your love and how we are called to share it with 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.

Care of the Earth

Eastertide

April 25, 2021

Scripture Reading:
John 10:11-18
‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’

We are breaking Christ’s heart as we practice the art of divide and concur. Oneness is a common theme throughout his ministry but particularly highlighted in John’s gospel. The more I observe the earth and the challenges it and its people face, the more I think God created the world to be interdependent. When we extract ourselves from that relationship, we start running into ruin.

I just finished reading Four Winds, a novel by Kristin Hannah based on the depression and the impact of the Dust Bowl. I am well acquainted with the stories straight from relatives’ mouths, but I do not think I understood the challenges they faced until I read this book. My Dad was a young teenager during that time whose father had recently died. I remember Dad talking about the “feds” stopping by his family’s farm, reporting they would be killing cattle in a nearby pasture. “Feds” bought the animals at a low market value and then shot them. My Dad talked about him and his brother following the “Feds.” After the cattle were shot, the boys would butcher the cattle on the spot and bring the flesh back to the house where their mother and sisters canned or smoked the meat. There was no refrigeration available. My Dad was a great storyteller, and I heard what he had to say as a great adventure. It was not. It was survival.

As it turns out, we learned the Dust Bowl resulted from plowing the ground in flat, straight rows. With plenty of rain and no bad windstorms, straight-row planting resulted in more crop production in good years. Strategies that worked well in areas where the land was not flat. High winds sweeping across the Great Plains stripped the land of its topsoil, ruining crops. The recovery from the Dust Bowl marked the beginning of the use of contour plowing and the planting of trees at regular intervals to act as windbreaks. Today we comfort new challenges in climate change. Those decisions are rarely driven by what is best for God’s people across the whole earth. They more often involve fights on who makes or loses the most money and who has the power to move decisions to their advantage. We replace the wisdom of oneness among all God’s children with greed and lust for power to our peril.

Prayer: Lord, you care for us like a Good Shepherd protecting us and showing us the way to thrive based on your desires for us. Help us to work together to find the righteous way to care for the earth and all your people. 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.

Good Shepherd, Bad Shepherd

Eastertide

April 24, 2021

Scripture Reading:

John 10:11-18
‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.’

Why would a good shepherd lay down his life for the sheep? Sheep are the source of the shepherd’s and his peoples’ livelihood. They provide wool for clothing, skins for tents or water pouches, and meat and milk for food. Nothing was wasted. The shepherd’s protection was essential. Contracted services do not share the same vested interest. I cringe as I write this materialistic view of the story. The farmers and shepherds of the first century would have fully understood Jesus’ point. If the shepherd and his friends had a desire for lamb chops whenever possible and he chose to slaughter every lamb whenever their gluttonous hunger needed to be fed, they would eventually have no sheep.

So, what would be a good analogy to deliver Jesus’ message today? As I write this, there are $1.4 million people in the USA who are living in poverty or with incomes below a living wage. Most of them work, and some work at two or more jobs. Our success as a nation is gaged on how we treat and deal with the working men and women who are the foundation of our economy. As the rich get richer and those numbered among the poor increase, we are on the same trajectory of decline that other great nations, like Rome, faced before their falls. Greed fed by power lost them kingdoms. It is ironic that Rome, too, allowed its infrastructure to decay and did not rise to the challenges of pandemics or climate change, like drought and volcanos.

Christ calls us to follow him as he works to create a world ruled by love where all people’s skills and talents are needed to make the world operate smoothly. All people must have basic needs met and must be afforded opportunities to become the people God created them to be. Disaster strikes when our greed gets in the way of that happening.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when our greed overcomes our common sense. Direct us in the way we should go to build the Kingdom ruled by 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.