Tag Archives: Oneness

A Time to Rebuild

Epiphany

January 7, 2021

Scripture Reading: Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
   worship the Lord in holy splendor.and

The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,
   and strips the forest bare;
   and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
   the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
   May the Lord bless his people with peace! –Psalm 29:1-2, 9-11

The horrible ice storm that whirled through Oklahoma City in October did indeed strip the trees bare. We were well reminded of the power in the universe the All-Powerful One created. Three months later, I look out on a 15-foot pole in my backyard that looks scalped and like someone tried to sharpen into a spear at the top. Otherwise, it is stripped bare of leaf or branch. The man who takes care of my yard when he came to clean up the damage from the storm said, “let’s let it go for now and see if it will come back.” I have my doubts. I wonder if my reaction to my sad yard is like the Israelites reaction to arriving back in Jerusalem after the exile and finding the temple in ruins.

The Psalmist reminds us that we are not alone. The Lord gives strength and peace to God’s people. God emboldened those returning Israelites to rebuild the temple and start their lives anew. Humans go through various stages of starting over throughout life. Some of those challenges are welcomed and planned, like starting a family. The first child always turns a couple’s world upside down. Equally, impactful is the loss of a loved one. Likewise, such change comes on nations as our political season is now impacting us. The entire world is struggling to deal with the COVID pandemic. We will never be the same. However, we have the choice of how we rebuild—how we elicit the strength and guidance of God to learn from the mistakes we have made and build a better future for all God’s children.

Prayer: Lord, give us strength and bless us with your peace as we deal with the impacts of change in our world today, 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.

The Word

Christmastide

January 2, 2021

Scripture Reading:
John 1:(1-9), 10-18
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.”‘) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.—John 1:10-18

The word world used here refers to the universe, worldly affairs, the inhabitants of the world*. Genesis 1 begins the world’s story coming into existence from God’s creative action of turning chaos into an ordered system placed under human care. God spoke, and the ordered system emerged. John indicates that Jesus Christ was the Word from which the world came into being. The world had drifted so far away from its righteous beginning; it no longer recognized the Word from which it derived. The Incarnation of Christ was necessary to correct that disconnection.

We humans have a history of not maintaining our relationship with God when things are going well. Rather than singing Praise God from whom all blessings flow**, we celebrate the good life as our achievement singing Oh Lord; it’s hard to be humble When you’re perfect in every way*** Evil enjoys destroying us through our privilege.

As we enter a new year, some careful self-evaluation may help us turn self-righteousness into God’s righteousness and inch us ever closer to a world ruled by love.

Prayer: Creator and sustainer of the world help us appreciate our creation’s gifts and responsibilities. Help us know you more nearly as we work on modeling our lives after your Word. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/2889.htm
**From a doxology written by Thomas Ken in the 17th century see at https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/8
***From It’s Hard to Be Humble by Mac Davis see at https://genius.com/Mac-davis-its-hard-to-be-humble-lyrics

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 of All

Christmastide

December 30, 2020

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!

How do we describe God? Theologians use words like “omnipresent”—always present, “omnipotent”—all-powerful, “omnibenevolent”—all good, and “omniscient”—all-knowing. The writer of today’s Psalm wants us to understand that God is beyond our knowing, cooler than the coldest cold, hotter than the hottest hot. We know God by our ever-growing experience with God. If we are each uniquely created in the image of God, then we must have a unique relationship with the Lord. That also means that God has a unique relationship with all the children God created.

This Psalm seems to indicate that God, too, has unique relationships with nations or faith groups. Different groups with different backgrounds develop unique customs and rituals. In the USA, we have inherited a wide variety of those customs, tweaking them a bit or even combining them. Tex-Mex is not the same as native foods from Mexico. I can now buy burritos at my favorite middle eastern restaurant. I enjoy all of them. I had probably noted before that the USA’s indigenous people had little trouble recognizing the deity missionaries called God. The Great Spirit, the Creator, had been among them since the beginning of time also. We monotheist sometimes have a problem with needing to proclaim that our god is better than your god when God is ultimately the one who knows our hearts as individuals, faith groups, and nations.

While faith groups practice different customs and even follow various ordinances, it is amazing how closely our rules are alike. It is a God thing.

Prayer: Creator of all, enable us to commune together as your children while holding true to your will and your ways for all our lives. 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.

God’s Guidance

Christmastide

December 29, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 31:7-14

For thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
   and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
   ‘Save, O Lord, your people,
   the remnant of Israel.’
See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,
   and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
   those with child and those in labor, together;
   a great company, they shall return here.
With weeping they shall come,
   and with consolations I will lead them back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
   in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel,
   and Ephraim is my firstborn. — Jeremiah 31:7-9

Jeremiah proclaims that the people will be returned to their land, and indeed they were. People left behind remained, and sharing the land was a challenge when those in exile returned. The temple lay in ruins and had to be rebuilt. While they were technically returning to their homeland, they remained under the governance of their captors. We here in Oklahoma are accustomed to rebuilding after tornadoes and wildfires. Significant loss changes people. We decide if such change is for the better or the worse. Such times of rebuilding and recovery is always for the better when we trust in God to guide us.

Our whole world is currently dealing with the COVID pandemic. Our nation is experiencing a tumultuous election and changing of governmental leadership. Racial division is raw across our land. We are not the first to deal with recovery as those who returned from exile did. I leave you with the words of an old hymn written in 1641 by Georg Neumark:

1 If you but trust in God to guide you
and place your confidence in him,
you’ll find him always there beside you
to give you hope and strength within;
for those who trust God’s changeless love
build on the rock that will not move.

2 Only be still and wait his pleasure
in cheerful hope with heart content.
He fills your needs to fullest measure
with what discerning love has sent;
doubt not our inmost wants are known
to him who chose us for his own.

3 Sing, pray, and keep his ways unswerving,
offer your service faithfully,
and trust his word; though undeserving,
you’ll find his promise true to be.
God never will forsake in need
the soul that trusts in him indeed*.

Prayer: Guide us, O Lord, as we seek recovery and renewal for ourselves, our nation, and our world.  Amen.

*See at https://hymnary.org/text/if_you_but_trust_in_god_to_guide_you#Author

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.

Christmastide

December 26, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 97

The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice;
   let the many coastlands be glad!

The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
   and all the peoples behold his glory.
All worshippers of images are put to shame,
   those who make their boast in worthless idols;
   all gods bow down before him.
Zion hears and is glad,
   and the towns of Judah rejoice,
   because of your judgements, O God.
For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
   you are exalted far above all gods. –Psalm 97:1, 6-9

As a society, we are having a rough time addressing the COVID pandemic. Some think rights are being taken from them because they cannot eat at their favorite restaurants or have large gatherings; more and more people suffer from hunger and eviction. Our stock market reaches all-time highs as our unemployment rate grows. We worship the idols of wealth and lust for power at the expense of others. Such a caste system runs counter to the creation story that all people are created in God’s image.

I think it is time that we, who call ourselves Christian, do some solemn soul-searching to determine whether we align with Christ’s vision of being his Body in the world today or are creating an image to meet our desires and claim it is God’s. The coming of a new year is an excellent time for such self-assessment. Studying the Sermon on the Mount and Matthew 25 are good places to start. I will reread The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a follow-up to the Sermon on the Mount study. I might even delve into The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis again. I invite you to join me on this journey.

Prayer: Lord, help us make this time of taking the threats of a pandemic seriously by staying home as a time to review our ways of being and realign them with the path you set before 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.

Obedience of Faith

Advent

December 17, 2020

Scripture Reading: Romans 16:25-27
Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Obedience as used above literally means submission to what is heard*. As Paul uses it here, faith obedience indicates fidelity in following the only wise God through Jesus Christ. Indeed, John identifies Jesus Christ as the Word. His deeds and actions speak to us the way God wants us to be. Idol worship transfers faith to other gods and following their words. While we may not have hosts of people bowing down to graven images, we do have individuals and groups putting their words in God’s mouth and calling it of God. How do we discern the difference?

The answer is as old as time. Does what I am hearing speak to loving God and loving one another? If it does not, it is not of God. The Bible contains lots of examples of loving God and loving one another—the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ parables, particularly Matthew 25. In so many instances, the voices of the idols are speaking the opposite of these scriptures. Greed is good for the agents of evil. Privilege is, too. Feeling that, because of who we are, we deserve better things than others.

When we seek to see through the eyes of God as we listen to God’s Word, we are drawn to see the world in its stark reality as it compares to the world and all its people as God envisioned it at creation.  With God’s guidance and help, our job is to bring our current world into sync with that vision through loving one another. Looking through the eyes of evil only lets us see the enticement directly before us.

Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free
Silently now I wait for thee
Ready, my God, thy will to see
Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine!

Prayer: Lord, help us to love one another as you love us as we seek to work together as the Body of Christ in the world today. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/5218.htm

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

Refecting God in our Love

Advent

December 15, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Luke 1:46b-55
And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
   and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
   Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
   and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
   from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
   he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
   and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
   and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
   in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
   to Abraham and to his descendants forever.’

Adam Hamilton, in his Advent study Incarnations, says that just as Jesus was the reflection of God with Us, Emmanuel, we, too, are called to reflect God with Us in our lives. I am sure I overstate my view; it is my website’s name—Wholeness, Oneness, Justice. Wholeness represents our continual, spiritual work at staying aligned with God. Oneness brings God-followers together to create the synergy Jesus talked about when he said When two or three are gathered together in my name I am with them (Matthew 18:20). Justice is another word for the righteousness of God. Micah 6:8 describes it succinctly, but its thread runs through the entire Bible, including Mary’s Song quoted above.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
   and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
   and to walk humbly with your God? –Micah 6:8

Prayer: Lord, we live in very troubling times. We need your support and guidance on how to live your love in such a time as this. 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.

Letting Our Lights Shine Together

Advent

December 12, 2020

Scripture Reading: John 1:6-8, 19-28

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. –John 6:6-8

All Christ-followers are called to testify to the light of Christ, yet we cannot have civil discourse one with the other. How are we supposed to share the light of Christ with those who do not know him when we cannot even talk to each other? Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I heard experts’ advice to help family relationships by discussing politics or religion over dinner. Any more, it is hard to differentiate politics from religion.

Such discord is not new. Poor Paul had to deal with differences of opinion about how to serve God from Jerusalem to Rome.  Around 50 CE, hubbub arose among Christ-followers, most of whom were also Jews, regarding whether gentiles needed to follow all the Jewish rituals before being recognized as Christ-followers. A meeting* was held in Jerusalem where the issue was debated, and eventually, the decision was made that gentiles did not have to be circumcised to become Christians.

So, what is really going on here? Children seem to need to be affirmed by their parents for their uniqueness and how they rank among the other children. Parents must reinforce how unique each child is while assuring all the children that they are equally loved. As adults, we do not seem to totally outgrow the need for such affirmation among others and God. We miss the mark when we supplant our judgment of our worthiness for Jesus’s review. Jesus clearly indicates that he views our worth by how we love and treat one another.

Prayer: God of Love, help us find ways to communicate with others so that your light shines forth from all who love you together. Amen.

*See Acts of the Apostles 15.1-41

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.

Restoration of Our World

Advent

December 9, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 126
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
   we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
   and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
   ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
The Lord has done great things for us,
   and we rejoiced.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
   like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
   reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
   bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
   carrying their sheaves.

I just heard a leading health official say that the COVID pandemic is the worst disaster in USA history. That was followed by a report of hospital beds being set up in a parking garage because of hospital overflow. Much of the rest of the news was about election disarray. Federal support for people impacted by the pandemic is scheduled to end soon if Congress does not act. Oklahoma City just picked up the broken tree branches from my front lawn left from one of the worst ice storms in state history. Fires continue on the west coast, the south is recovering from hurricanes, and the east coast is recovering from winter weather. Some are excited about the stock market breaking record highs while one in four people in our country is deemed food insecure.

We, as individuals, communities, cities, states, our nation, and the world, are in desperate need of the Lord’s restoration. It must start with the repair of our souls as we turn to God to discern what part, if any, we played to get into this mess and what God is calling us to do to recover from it.

The word translated “fortunes” above in the phrase Restore our fortunes, O Lord, is rendered as untranslatable by Strong’s Concordance*. Some translators use the word fortunes others use the word captives. Being freed from captivity could be considered fortunate, but that probably is not what most of us would think when we read the word fortune. I fear, though, that decisions are being made on recovery based on restoration of wealth rather than wholeness or health or freedom.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in recovering Shalom—wholeness, wellbeing, and peace–for all. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/psalms/126-4.htm

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

Comfort the Mourning

Advent

December 7, 2020

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
   because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
   to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
   and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
   and the day of vengeance of our God;
   to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
   to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
   the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
   they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
   the devastations of many generations. –Isaiah 61:1-4

More people died of COVID on December 5, 2020, in the USA than in the 9-11 bombing of the World Trade Center. COVID is now the leading cause of death in the USA. This morning a friend sent me an apology for whispering in my ear at an event yesterday without her mask. She was trying to avoid an interruption of the service and did not think. She also just returned to work from having had COVID and passing all the tests to work. By nature, a caring person, she cares even more now, having had several family members sick and being sick herself with the virus.

We need to take a day in Advent to bind up the broken-hearted and comfort all who mourn. I pray for:

  • The new father, whose beautiful baby was safely delivered as his mother died of COVID.
  • The ICU nurse who held the hand of patients with her gloved hand one after another on the same day, standing in for family members not allowed to be with their loved ones when there was nothing else the nurse could do.
  • The nurse who retired in January answering the call to fill the void of trained staff in March and died of COVID in November.
  • The families and friends of the 66,000,000 people worldwide, including 278,932 from the USA, were killed by COVID as of December 5.
  • I pray that our leaders, guided by your Spirit, wisely choose how to address the people’s needs.

Prayer: Lord, help us all do the simple things that have been proven effective in curbing the pandemic: wearing masks, staying six feet apart, washing our hands, avoiding crowds. 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.