Tag Archives: Oneness

Ruins

Living in the Spirit
November 17, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 13:1-8

As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!’ Then Jesus asked him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’—Mark 13:1-2

I do not know what is so mesmerizing about ruins. I have stood among many with large stones some broken lying about suggesting the possible shape of a building that once was. Sometimes the stones have the remains of pictures or words in languages I cannot read. Parts of the words are worn or broken off. As I walked down the path at Ephesus, I tried to imagine how the buildings looked when they were new. I had a very real sense that I was walking in Paul’s steps and remembered the trials and experiences he described as occurring in Ephesus. That was two thousand years ago.

I went to graduate school in Denver during the late 1970’s. Loved the city. It did not take long for me to acclimate. I returned a couple of times over the next few years and noticed some change, but it was still the same basic place to me. In the late 1990’s, I flew to a meeting in Denver landing at the then-new airport that seems many miles away as I took a taxi to my hotel. Looking around as I entered the city, I recognized nothing except the capitol dome. It was a bit of a shock; different but still a great city.

Thousands of Californians have lost everything they had in recent fires. People are missing, and many are dead. We must do all we can to help the survivors deal with their losses. As was true two thousand years ago, God’s love never changes and our call to serve in his name does not change either.

Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. For

‘All flesh is like grass
   and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
   and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord endures forever.’
That word is the good news that was announced to you. –1 Peter 1:22-25

Prayer: Help us to love each other as you love 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.

Restorative Justice

Living in the Spirit
November 15, 2018

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:15-18
And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
‘This is the covenant that I will make with them
   after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
   and I will write them on their minds’,
he also adds,
‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

The USA purports to be a nation built on the rule of law. Laws of ourselves, created by ourselves, and for ourselves. Do we follow the laws of our land, and if so why? A friend and I were recently agreeing that there seems to be a trend in our city, of people choosing to run red lights, not entering the cross street even though the light just turned yellow but speeding up to enter the cross street when the light has obviously just turned red. What results is that most of the rest of us have become very cautious about entering the intersection without looking both ways more than once and holding our breath as we move forward. Selfishness has made this rule of law dysfunctional.

The rule of law is designed to be neutral, designed to protect the Common Good. It does not work when selfish bending of it becomes the informal rule. Laws need to be adjusted over time and revisited to determine that they are grounded in the Common Good, but they are necessary to maintain a semblance of order. The quality of any law does not matter if the law’s purpose is not accepted by most citizens.

The writer of Hebrews is acknowledging this truth when he writes that the Lord will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. Laws become the means of providing order to what we hold as values in our hearts and minds. If I value the lives of my fellow citizens, I choose to follow rules that establish safe processes. This is an extremely simplistic example of the idea of the rule of law, but it is foundational to establishing a world ruled by love.

As my friend and I mused further about our traffic observations, I said, “Perhaps all these cameras we now have could take pictures of the license plates of those running a red light and issues them automatic tickets.” The alternative to a world ruled by love is a punitive rule of laws where attempts are made to provide the necessary order by enforcing punishment on those not following the law. Tickets work to remind people who normally obey laws that they missed one time and they become more careful. Punishment fails to change the lives of those whose only concern is getting caught.

Our job as disciples of Jesus Christ is to provide restorative justice changing hearts and minds as we share God’s love with a wounded world.

Prayer: Lord, as you restore us to wholeness help us restore others to wholeness in your name. 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.

Choosing to Love

Living in the Spirit
November 14, 2018

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 10:11-14

And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, ‘he sat down at the right hand of God’, and since then has been waiting ‘until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.’ For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

Jesus with his sacrifice on the cross freed us from sin so that we could make the whole world the place God envisioned it to be at creation. Freewill has been bandied about since its inception in theological tomes. I do not claim to be an expert on the subject. I do think two things, first, God does not want anyone to love God because he or she must. We are made in God’s image and we inherited the desire to be loved by the choice of others. Love is not love unless it comes with no strings attached including our love of God. Second, while God longs for God’s vision of a world ruled by love, God’s great desire is that we share that vision by choice. Thus, Christ waits at the right hand of God until we fully come on board sharing his ideals and working to make them the reality.

 

I listened on the news this morning as family members of a young woman recently killed in one of our now common mass shootings. They were sharing an idea that we just all need to try a little harder to be kinder, to care about those no one else cares about including the young man who had killed their loved one. One said something to the effect, “Is that asking too much?” I think Christ would respond, “It’s a great start.”

Prayer:
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise. 

Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee*. Amen.

First and second verse of the hymn Take My Life and Let It Be by Frances Ridley Havergal see at https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/445

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.

Made in the Image of God

Living in the Spirit
November 12, 2018

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 1:4-20

 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying silently; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard; therefore, Eli thought she was drunk. So, Eli said to her, ‘How long will you make a drunken spectacle of yourself? Put away your wine.’ But Hannah answered, ‘No, my lord, I am a woman deeply troubled; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time.’ Then Eli answered, ‘Go in peace; the God of Israel grant the petition you have made to him.’ And she said, ‘Let your servant find favor in your sight.’ Then the woman went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and her countenance was sad no longer.

They rose early in the morning and worshipped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at Ramah. Elkanah knew his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked him of the Lord.’                                                                                                                                         –1 Samuel 1:12–20

How do we judge others? How important are first impressions? Do we transfer unpleasant events from our lives to others without regard to who they really are? How do we look past our prejudices and see the image of God in each person with whom we deal? In the story above, Eli made an incorrect assumption about Hannah but very quickly changed courses when he understood more about her and the sorrow with which she wrestled.

Jesus saw the person beyond the situation in his encounters.  He seemed particularly sensitive to the needs of women for a man in his culture: the woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, the Syrophoenician woman, the mother whose son had died, the woman who touched the hem of his garment seeking healing. In impetuous Peter, he saw and groomed the leader of a church. He helped brothers James and John, who were lusting for power, see the more important way. Jesus saw the faith in a Roman Centurion and the potential in blind Bartimaeus.

Intentionality of effort is required in seeing the image of God in each person we encounter. In many situations, we will need the blessed presence of the Holy Spirit to get past our limitations. It certainly requires us to accept that, we too, are made in the image of God and thus are fully capable of loving one another.

Prayer: Lord, empower us to love first and let love guide the course of all our interactions 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.

Giving

Living in the Spirit
November 11, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 12:38-44

He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’ –Mark 12:41-44

I was raised in a family that tithed according to the Old Testament tradition of setting aside 10% for the church. General budgeting benefits from setting aside projected amounts to assure that all needs are met as well as desired outcomes attained. On average, Christians give 2.5% of their income to churches. During the Great Depression, they gave 3.3%. (Nonprofit Source, 2018) People closer to a problem have a better understanding of the need.

I have come to an understanding of Jesus’ idea regarding budgeting dictates all our resources must be used in a manner that contributes to the furtherance of the Kingdom of God in our world today. I have yet to fully live up to that standard, but I do accept the challenge. Yes, I remain committed to giving a first offering to the church. I am also committed to seeing that my church uses its resources wisely.

In addition, I am working toward being far more conscious of how my spending habits impact others. Switching to total wind power or solar if your electric company offers it will reduce your carbon footprint. Buying Equal Exchange or other such program’s coffee and tea products in support of small farmers in the third world contributes to growing self-sufficiency in poverty-stricken areas. Investing savings in companies that care as much about ethical behavior as profit can help assure that employees are paid a living wage. This list could go on but the important thing to remember is being intentional about how we use our material resources as a part of our faith journey.

Prayer: Lord, open opportunities for better use of all my resources to your glory. 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.

Children of God

Living in the Spirit
November 6, 2018

Scripture Reading: Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.’ Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, ‘A son has been born to Naomi.’ They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David. –Ruth 4:13-17

I grew up with two very different sized family experiences. My mother had a very small family; my father a very large one. I had two first cousins on my mother’s side; 42 on my father’s. In both cases, there was an abiding sense of relationship that one always had someone else with whom to make their journey through life. Now I am of the older generations and nephews and nieces outnumber my generation. I must confess it is hard for me to conceive of people having no relatives at least that they know, but as an active member of a church, I now have encounter many such people. Some have simply outlived all but the most distant relatives. Others for reason known and unknown have severed ties with family members. Some just come from small families. Recently I have gained greater insight regarding families from one person recently experiencing the death of her only relative and the other a small refugee family torn away from relatives, neighbors, and friends by the ravages of war. Because of my own life experiences, it is quite hard for me to wrap my head around such aloneness.

What these experiences have reinforced in me is the wonderful knowledge that I and each of those who feel so alone are all children of God and part of a great family. We who share in this knowing must realize the ramifications of our responsibilities to our siblings inherited through our relationship with God.

Prayer: Help us accept each other as Christ accepted us; teach us as sister, brother, each person to embrace. Be present, Lord, among us and Bring us to believe: we are ourselves accepted and meant to love and live*. Amen.

*Words from Help Us Accept Each Other by Fred Kaan Hymn Online Words © 1975 Hope Publishing Company see at https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw3521.aspx

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.

Tribalism

Living in the Spirit
October 30, 2018

Scripture Reading: Ruth 1:1-8

Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had had consideration for his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. –Ruth 1:6-8

I wonder if Naomi was concerned about the way her daughters-in-law would be treated in Israel when she told them to go back to their families? She needed their help, she obviously cared deeply for them, but no one wants someone they love to be mistreated because of who they are.

We are called by God to love all of God’s children and thus are called to care for them deeply as a loving sibling no matter what. We are well acquainted with the discrimination experienced by people of color or differing ethnicities, people who practice other religions, or the LGBTQ population who are all children of God we are called to love. I fear in the United States the divisiveness of politics has created additional pockets of hate like what the Moabite daughters-in-law faced. The Moabites are traditionally identified as the descendants of Lot, Abrahams nephew, Isaac’s cousin. The new discrimination which we must defeat is called tribalism.

What is it about human nature that seems to demand we measure our self-worth in comparison to others. Jesus never modeled such behavior. If anything, he spent more time with those who had little, the downtrodden, the outcast. Each human was created in the image of God and needs nothing more to establish his or her self-worth. It is imperative that when we encounter another human we first see that image of God in them and treat them as we would treat children of God.

Prayer: Help us to love others as Christ loves 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.

Loving Each Other

Living in the Spirit
October 29, 2018

Scripture Reading: Ruth 1:1-8

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there for about ten years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons or her husband. –Ruth 1:1-5

A Bible study group, in which I am involved, is studying the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Of one thing I am sure from that study, Ezra and Nehemiah had no love for Moabites. They required the end of intermarriages between Israelites and all foreigners and specifically identified Moabites and Ammonites as outcasts. To say the least, they conveniently forgot that King David’s ancestors Ruth was a Moabite. Ezra supported his theology by referring to the Torah that records events before David was king. Apparently, he chose to ignore scriptures that encouraged welcoming strangers* and loving one’s neighbors**. Purity of heritage was vital in the minds of Ezra and Nehemiah. We who follow Christ must deal with these stories with the hindsight of the teachings of one who called us to welcome everyone.

Just as the post-exilic Israelites failed to benefit from these Torah based teachings, we today seem to be slipping toward similar mindsets regarding tribal superiority. Today I hear that a man was arrested for sending bombs in the mail to people representing a different political viewpoint than his. In Pittsburg, a man invades a Sabbath service in a synagogue killing and wounding several worshippers. I wonder if the problem is in the last part of the Jesus’ statement: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Matthew 22:39b) Why do people need to establish that they are better than others to feel good about themselves? Why can they not love themselves as children of God and celebrate everyone else loving themselves too? How do we share that message without further separation and division?

Prayer: Oh, God, our Father
Christ, our Brother
All who live in love are thine
Teach us how to love each other***. Amen

*See Exodus 23:9 and Leviticus 19: 33-34
**See Leviticus 19:9-18
***Last verse of Joyful, Joyful by John Mark Hall / Bernie Herms see at tps://www.google.com/search?q=teach+us+how+to+love+each+other+lyrics&oq=teach+us+to+love+each&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.6919j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

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.

Servant-Leaders

Living in the Spirit
October 21, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 10:35-45

When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them and said to them, ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’—Mark 10:41-45

Servanthood is a role of leadership. A leader’s task is to maximize the talents and skills of the people with whom the leader works whether it be in a business, a church, or the government. Jesus modeled the role of servant-leader well. I fear we have lost that role among leaders who are more concerned about their own aggrandizement or selfish gain. I fear the model of the self-serving leader is gaining ground.

When I was a child, granted I was a child a long time ago, we played a game called King off the Mountain. The goal of the game was for someone to climb onto some sort of risen area and have someone else try to push them off. If that person succeeded, he or she became King on the Mountain and the next persons attempted to push them off. The goal, of course, was to see how long one person could stay at the top. It is a game that can get violent and I hope it is no longer played. What it illustrates is important. People who invest most of their time in trying to be on the top of the Mountain rarely get anything of worth done and they may hurt a lot of other people in the process.

I do see the servant-leader in our world today sometimes in unusual places. People who play on sports teams to succeed must recognize the skills and help to grow everyone’s abilities if they wish to win games. Recently, we observed rescues from hurricane damage and floods that were totally dependent on highly skilled servant-leaders. Soldiers recognize the need for servant-leadership.

Most of us find ourselves in the role of leader at some point in life. Are we modeling the servant-leadership Jesus practiced? Do we support leaders who follow Jesus’ example or are we caught in the trap of seeking only what seems best for ourselves?

Prayer: Lord, help me be a servant-leader following in your footsteps. 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 Bigger Picture

Living in the Spirit
October 15, 2018

Scripture Reading: Job 38:1-7, (34-41)

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:
‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Gird up your loins like a man,
   I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
‘Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
   Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
   Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
   or who laid its cornerstone
when the morning stars sang together
   and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy? –Job 38:1-7

We humans thought the world was flat until we discovered it was not. The world is an amazing reality. Although we have come a long way in understanding it, I think we have just scratched the surface. Even the things we do know about our world do not seem to matter much to us in our role of having dominion over the earth. We take the world for granted until the world spews forth its displeasure with our behavior in fulfilling our role of being responsible caretakers rather than pillagers of its resources.

The writer of Job has God asking Job the breadth of Job’s understanding of his world and how it functions. How do he and each of us fit into the workings of the world about us. God is calling Job to look at the bigger picture. I hear that happening in interviews with people who have lost all their material possessions following a recent hurricane. “We survived, that is all that matters, the rest is just material that can be replaced.” Each speaker clearly understands how much toil and tears await them in the recovery and it is that bigger picture that provides them the strength to continue.

Of course, in the story of Job, his family was lost. The final count of lives lost is yet to be determined in the hurricane as rescue and recovery search through the debris left behind. Some may have lost their families like Job. Like Job, though they are finding themselves in the broader family of God as people they did not know before, love them enough to care for them as they start the hard road back from severe loss.

Just as God charged us to care for the earth, he calls us to care for all that is within it including all God’s children.

Prayer: Lord, make us mindful of our role as caretakers of the earth and its peoples. 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.