Tag Archives: Oneness

Seeking Shalom

Living in the Spirit

July 7, 2020

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 55:10-13
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
   and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
   giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
   it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
   and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
For you shall go out in joy,
   and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
   shall burst into song,
   and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
   instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
   for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

Sharing one’s thoughts in either the spoken or written word makes one vulnerable. Ecclesiastes 11:1 tells us to Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back. I can read this in a couple of ways. If I say or write something, I own it. It, however, also means that we must invest ourselves if we want to shape a quality world in which to live. The challenge is to discern what a quality world for all of the world’s populations is? Whether we like it or not, that requires us to live in community striving for oneness.

Oneness does not mean sameness. Oneness recognizes that each of us is unique and has special skills and talents that need to be developed entirely in inclusiveness with others.  When we perfect oneness we shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace.

 The last few lines of the above scripture set forth the conclusions of our efforts of working together rather than being divisive. Do we want to live among thorns and briers or cypress and myrtle? Are we planting seeds of love for God and love for one another, or are we filling the world with weeds of division and discords because we are worshiping the lesser god of self-righteousness?

Prayer: Creator of all, forgive us when we fail to see the importance of sharing your love to all and working together to fulfill your vision of a world driven by shalom. 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.

Family

Living in the Spirit

July 6, 2020

Scripture Reading: Genesis 25:19-34

Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, ‘Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!’ (Therefore he was called Edom.) Jacob said, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ Esau said, ‘I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?’ Jacob said, ‘Swear to me first.’ So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. –Genesis 25:29-34

Family, whether biologic or adopted or borrowed, is our first experience of dealing with others for good or for evil. The movie Oliver, based on the book Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens illustrates that point well. At the start, Oliver is shown as an orphan living in a harsh setting with other orphans, finding community and caring among a band of thieves, but eventually he finds a loving home. One of the songs from the movie, Where is Love, hauntingly describes his quest to find his mother who is dead.

Genesis is filled with almost soap-opera tales of family intrigue. The story above describes a younger brother, Jacob, his mother’s pet, conning his older brother, Esau, out of his birthright. One could argue that the Israelite tradition of the eldest son inheriting the family fortunes was unfair. One could also observe that if Esau could be so easily bought with a bowl of soup, he probably could not have handled the family business.  If we read the rest of the story, we learn that when Dad found out, Jacob had to disappear for a while.

The values we teach our children matter. Loving our neighbors matters too. When children do not learn the values of mercy, justice, humility, self-respect, respect for others at home, it is even more critical that they learn it from the other adults in their lives. Communities of faith must be strongholds for teaching how to love one another.

Prayer: Lord, help us to take our role as neighbors modeling love very seriously. Forgive us when we set terrible examples. Amen.

Where is Love by Lionel Bart, see at https://genius.com/Oliver-musical-cast-recording-where-is-love-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.

The Coming of Spring

Living in the Spirit

July 1, 2020

Scripture Reading: Song of Solomon 2:8-13
The voice of my beloved!
   Look, he comes,
leaping upon the mountains,
   bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle
   or a young stag.
Look, there he stands
   behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
   looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me:
‘Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away;
for now the winter is past,
   the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
   the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle-dove
   is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
   and the vines are in blossom;
   they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
   and come away.

Reading this is a blessing after another morning of lousy news getting worse. Spring does follow winter. As Robert Browning writes in Pippa Passes, “God’s in His heaven— All’s right with the world!”

God grants us the choice of striving for the better or wallowing in the worst. I like the approach of a pragmatic optimist. We need to face the reality in which we find ourselves to discern ways to move forward toward our goal of being the hands and feet of Jesus on the earth today, creating the Kingdom He foresaw as possible.

I do not think many want to hear, we have a long, steep road ahead of us, but if we work together, we can realize success. I see this playing out in the political ads now routinely interrupting my viewing options. I hear some singing the same song regarding two or three issues that have little or no impact on most people. The ads often contain words that immediately bring to mind hot-bottom affairs. They include no explanation addressing how they intend to impact those issues. Fixing the economy is a good example. Does that mean the candidate is going to work to increase the stock market or assure that every worker earns a living wage? I have not heard anyone suggest he or she is going to try to address both. Such ads are skillfully designed for you to hear what you want to hear, not what the candidates’ intentions are.

We need to realign our own lives with God’s ways as we try to create that Kingdom Jesus foresaw. The foundation of that Kingdom is love. That is is a great place to begin our exploration of what will work to take us from chaos into Kingdomtide.

Prayer: Lord, help us see past the hot-button issues to the real needs of our world. Help us grow together in oneness so that when we come together in your name, we get positive results for our efforts. 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.

Answering a Call

Living in the Spirit

June 29, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Genesis 24:34-67

Then I bowed my head and worshipped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son. Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.’ And they called Rebekah, and said to her, ‘Will you go with this man?’ She said, ‘I will.’ So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
‘May you, our sister, become
   thousands of myriads;
may your offspring gain possession
   of the gates of their foes.’
Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way. –Genesis 24:40-49, 58-61

As a child, I had a little golden book that told this story with pictures and words. It was like a fairy tale, and I enjoyed reading it over and over again. I now know this was a story from an ancient culture that followed customs that are foreign to our society today, although some things never change. No one wants their children to marry the wrong kind of person. Our definition of who that wrong kind of person is has changed markedly.

I am impressed that Rebekah apparently had a choice as to whether she would go. Years ago, I received a telephone call from the state office of the agency where I worked, asking me if I would be interested in transferring to a job in another town. I said, let me think about it. They said we need to know today. I went on a coffee break with a friend, and we tossed around the pros and cons. I returned to the office called them back and said I would take the transfer, and their response was I should report to duty tomorrow and stop by the state office to pick up the name badge I would need, which was apparently already made. I have always wondered if I really had a choice. I wonder if that was the kind of choice Rebekah had. My job change was one of the best decisions I ever made. I think Rebekah probably felt the same about her decision.

I read somewhere recently that the Spirit of God was a wind, not a wall. It flows in and around and through us as it does through all God’s people working to bring the Body of Christ into oneness. We are called to catch the wind and fulfill our contribution to creating a world ruled by love.

Prayer: Lord, give us the discernment to recognize the Spirit’s workings and help us be ready to go where the Spirit leads 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.

Rewarded with Joy

Living in the Spirit

June 28, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Matthew 10:40-42
‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’

Someone just posted on my Facebook, a group of pictures of President Obama with children and elderly people during his presidency. They are lovely pictures of the kids and the seniors, but the person who is enjoying the encounters the most is the President. His face reflects absolute joy.  Seeing those pictures just before reading the above scripture made me wonder what Jesus found to be rewarding. I have seen artistic renderings of Jesus laughing and playing with children.

The word reward implies correct compensation for services rendered. Years ago, an elder in my church said in a class that his goal for doing good was to earn a higher spot in heaven, and he meant it. I was much younger at the time and confess I was taken aback and spent some time considering that idea. I come from the viewpoint that my relationship with Christ started when I accepted him as my Savior, and that relationship continues through eternity.  God loves me and desires for me, whatever is best for me.

I think that is a very freeing relationship. It opens the door to explore and find all the opportunities that await each of us to be of service to God in areas that bring us joy. What brings us joy, not happiness or thrills, but deep, lasting joy? Is it seeing a toddler stacking the colored rings on a post for the first time? Perhaps it is watching an amputee take his first step with a prosthesis. Maybe it is seeing the new owner receive the keys to a Habitat for Humanities house you helped build. In 1991, I felt joy hearing that the Governor had signed a bill supporting improved childcare in Oklahoma, after working for ten years to craft and pass such a law.

A lot of hard work went into all these accomplishments. Setbacks and restarts were the norms, but working together with people who share God’s vision for our world is one of the greatest joys we can experience. We are all called to live in the joy of loving like Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for sharing your joy with us and for being with us during the frustrating times we spend building joy. 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.

Welcoming

Living in the Spirit

June 27, 2020

Scripture Reading: Matthew 10:40-42
‘Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’

Who do we welcome? We citizens of the USA have had difficulty adjusting to wearing masks and “social” distancing as precautionary measures to bring COVID 19 under control. Most churches, I think, are trying to use the word “physical” distancing as we continue to continue social contacts. Some also seem to have a stream of thought that “no one can tell me what to do.” I supposed that arises from our intense feelings about individualism that is often connected with 19th-century individual salvation.

The same Savior from whom our ancestors and we sought individual salvation is the one that modeled for us welcoming all. Jesus Christ is the one who judges each of us. We do not have to apply any measure of worth or faith to the ones we welcome. We are called to love them. Jesus invested time among people. He was conversant enough with them to know them—there joys and sufferings, their aspirations, and their fears. We cannot love our neighbors unless we know our neighbors. Jesus said, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. –Matthew 5:16 That is a command to all. We must know our neighbors well enough that their light illuminates our being, too.

Prayer: Lord, help me see your light in each person I welcome into my life and help me to move out of my comfort zone to learn your love from the neighbors I do not yet know. 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.

Laughter is Good for the Soul

Living in the Spirit

Scripture Reading: Genesis 21:1-7
The Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had spoken to him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Now Sarah said, ‘God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.’ And she said, ‘Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’

Two friendly college students one year rented the house next door to my mother. Mom worked in the yard a lot, and she and the young men developed an over-the-fence friendship. My sister and brother both lived on farms near my mother and saw her regularly. I lived in another town about 70 miles away and would routinely go pick her up and bring her to visit me.

On one of those occasions, I got a call from my brother asking me if Mom was OK. I said, yes. He went on to explain that the neighbors had called the police and reported that they and not seen Mrs. Knott for several days, and her house had developed a horrible smell. They probably thought she had died. The policeman who got the call contacted my brother and shared the concern with him. My brother explained that Mom was visiting me, and the policeman reported the odor problem to my brother. City animal control officers had asked permission to put some skunk traps out on Mom’s property as they were dealing with a bad infestation of the odorous little animals, and she had agreed. Apparently, one was trapped and was not happy about it. My brother called me to tell me about the situation and, I think, to assure himself that Mom was still at my house. Mom giggled when I shared the story with her, even though she appreciated the young men’s concern. Occasionally that evening, she would get a little gleam in her eyes and giggle again.

I thought about this when I first read about Sarah laughing when told she was going to have a baby post-menopause.  Sarah was so caught up in the irony of her becoming pregnant; she even named the baby, Isaac, which means he will laugh*.

Laughter is an excellent medicine for the soul. Finding mutual humor can clear a room of discomfort and distrust. Sharing life stories with others helps us see how much more alike we are than different. With all the tension I have viewed on TV recently regarding discrimination, I enjoyed seeing national guard members joining marchers in dancing the macarena when someone started playing the music. When we can dance together or laugh together, we can find common ground to heal the wounds that divide us.

Prayer: Lord, help us highlight the things that unite us as we explore and work to solve the things that divide us. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/str/hebrew/3446.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.

Come Holy Spirit

Living in the Spirit

June 7, 2020

Scripture Reading: John 7:37-39
On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.” ’ Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

As yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified is curious wording for a writer with a Jewish background. The second verse of Genesis mentions the spirit of God. The Hebrew Bible contains over 200 references to the spirit. Psalm 51:11 is a prayer that pleads, Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Was there a sense among Jesus’s followers that the spirit had been taken away? Perhaps driven away would be more descriptive. We lose contact with the Spirit when we think we know more than God. Jesus instructs in Matthew 12:31, Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Must we recognize that we are doing something wrong before we can be forgiven?

What happens when the failure to follow the guidance of the Spirit becomes an epidemic in society? We cluster in groups sharing not in God’s righteousness but in communal self-righteousness. We see only what we choose to see within our closed communities losing sight that all people are God’s children. We ignore the ways of God as we search hopelessly for gods that reflect our thinking that foster the evil that persuades us. We all need to read and comprehend the book of Amos again or for the first time.

One of the tricky things about a democracy created as a government of the people, by the people, for the people is we the people own both its failures and successes. Our government is made in our image, and I, for one, do not like what I am seeing. The changes needed begin with us. We need to look deeply into God’s mirror to see how closely our images reflect the image of a God whose prime directive was to love God and love one another. The fear is that we have drifted so far from the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we cannot see our way back to being aligned with God.

It is never too late. God loves all God’s children and wants the very best for us. God wants us to want the very best for each other. To do that, we must let go of thinking we know more than God.

Prayer: Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me forgive me. Forgive me for departing from you. Cleanse me of my prejudices and guide me to see the world through your loving eyes. 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.

Take our Heads from the Sand

Living in the Spirit

June 5, 2020

Scripture Reading: Acts 2:1-21

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
   and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
   and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
   in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
     and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
   and signs on the earth below,
     blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
   and the moon to blood,
     before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” –Acts 2:14-21

A new day is dawning. A pandemic and senseless bigotry are tugging our heads from the sand. Our eyes are being opened to the harm from focusing our lives on things that do not matter.  The pandemic has shown us that the rich getting richer ultimately leaves no one to undergird their wealth. Who will wash their clothing, build their houses, pave the roads on which they drive, grow and prepare their food, care for them when they are sick, and transport goods across the country for them?

The question now is, will we learn from this experience? Will we move out through our nation and the world as the disciples did following Pentecost to take the message that loving one another and caring for one another is our primary purpose—rich or poor, persons of color or white, male or female, or LGBTQ. God created an interdependent world where each of God’s children is worthy and honorable.

All people need to have enough. Not just food, clothing, and shelter but also love, acceptance, appreciation, and respect. People of faith know the way to attain such a world. We need to act on that knowledge.

Prayer: Lord, instill in us the motivation and courage to step up and step out to create a world 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.

Living in Harmony

Living in the Spirit

June 3, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
   In wisdom you have made them all;
   the earth is full of your creatures.
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
   creeping things innumerable are there,
   living things both small and great.
There go the ships,
   and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. –Psalm 104:24-26

I am entering week three of critter control at my home. One lone squirrel remains in my attic. I think it entered the trap set last night. Hopefully, this squirrel will be returned to the wild today. The critters are here because of urban sprawl. Workers accidentally knocked open the door to my crawl space, welcoming hungry raccoons, possums, and at least one squirrel into the outer bounds of my house. The company removing the critters is very humane and uses exit cages on openings that let the animals leave but not return. When they examined my house, they discovered other possible entries that have now been sealed. The gateway out from my crawl space remains, but apparently, my squirrel friend is not aware that the exit exists. Yesterday the trap was set.

The moral of this story is that God created an interdependent world where all on earth must work in harmony to thrive. Whenever we allow our quest for wealth or privilege or power overcome our commitment to accepting our roles in an interdependent society that society is thrown off balance in varied destructive ways from the results of climate change to racism.

God also populated the earth with a diversity of people who together possess the skills and talents needed to sustain life and grow in wisdom and truth. For our world to work at the most fundamental level, we must work together, each making his or her contribution to society. God’s world is designed to function optimally when we love our neighbors as we love ourselves—all our neighbors all the time. Our wellbeing is based on the wellbeing of others. I think that is precisely what God intended.

Prayer: Lord, help us grow in wisdom and truth as we change our way of being to reflect your plan for a world fueled 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.