Tag Archives: Oneness

Complacency

complacencyLiving in the Spirit
September 8, 2015

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 1:20-33

Because they hated knowledge
   and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
  would have none of my counsel,
   and despised all my reproof,
  therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way
   and be sated with their own devices.
For waywardness kills the simple,
   and the complacency of fools destroys them;
   but those who listen to me will be secure   and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.’ –Proverbs 1:29-33

The phrases above translated “complacency of fools,” while accurate, may be nicer in English for in Hebrew it means stupid fellow, dullard, fool.* In English it means

1 a:  the quality or state of being satisfied:  a calm sense of well-being and security especially satisfaction or self-satisfaction accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies

b:  self-satisfaction, vanity**

Of course, a calm sense of wellbeing and security is exactly what we long for in our relationship with God and according to verse 33 it is exactly what God wishes for us. Our poet today is trying to point out, I believe, the difference between living out our lives with little or no concern about anything but ourselves and our own peace of mind without regard to our environment and particularly to the lives of our fellow travelers in this world today. Nero fiddled while Rome burned. God calls us to put out destructive fires of indifference while being the light of the world.

Prayer: Holy One, God of today and God of tomorrow, make real for us the consequences of our own actions and order our lives to be ever vigilant to your will and your way for there is a difference in facing danger in your name and ignoring it in selfish indulgences. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/hebrew/3684.htm

**http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/complacency

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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Oneness

people-arguing1Living in the Spirit
September 7, 2015

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 1:20-33

Wisdom cries out in the street;
   in the squares she raises her voice.
At the busiest corner she cries out;
   at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
‘How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
   and fools hate knowledge? –Proverbs 1:20-22

I’ll admit I am a news junkie, but I am wearing pretty thin on what even the major stations are broadcasting. Apparently, the morning show, I normally watch, is planning to have each presidential candidate come on the show and share their ideas, which is a good thing, right. One candidate did appear recently and his four or five minute segment was spent primarily challenging him to say something about another candidate whose antics are all we hear about in the news. Most of the reporting about other candidates is a travel log where they are speaking, not what they are saying. When we do hear about what they are saying, it is normally quotes about the controversial issue of the day not their plans for our country. I have to assume the news programs are doing this because it helps their ratings and if that is true then that is on us. We need to demand substance.

Sorry about the rant, but when I read our scripture for today, it seemed to be describing our political system. We make big deals out of issues that have little if any impact on most of the country while our economic system is upside down, our infrastructure is falling apart, and who has a clue about what to do regarding Syria and ISIS. We are a house divided and we all know what happens to houses divided.

Jesus Christ called us to be one, to love one another, which I believe requires us to work diligently toward the Common Good, not tear it apart so that I can have what I want at your expense. The Body of Christ needs to set the example of such oneness not be the source of the division.

Prayer: Lord forgive us for making you a pawn in our political games. Give us a new song to sing your oneness throughout this land. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Ethnocentric

cannanite_womanLiving in the Spirit
September 5, 2015

Scripture Reading: Mark 7:24-37

From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.’ So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. –Mark 7:24-30

Ethnocentric:
1:  centering upon race as a chief interest or end
2 a:  inclined to regard one’s own race or social group as the center of culture
   b:  exhibiting an incapacity for viewing foreign cultures dispassionately*  

Do you remember learning words when you were in school that you thought at the time you might never use again? Ethnocentric is such a word for me. I was a sociology major in college. Now, I try not to use jargon specific to a discipline only people in that field would readily understand. Recently though I have added ethnocentric back into my vocabulary for it is a word with which we all need to become acquainted.

Our scripture today tells us of an incident in Jesus’ life when he was being ethnocentric in the sense of the definition 2a above. He perceived his own race or social group as the center of culture. Was he teaching his disciples who were observing this transaction lesson about seeing the essence of God in everyone or was he, indeed, having his own Aha moment having spent his days in relative isolation from people of other countries and races. This state of being is not bad or good it just is. It is a natural response to the world until we have opportunities to share with other cultures and social groups. It becomes harmful when it results in definition 2b: the incapacity for viewing foreign cultures dispassionately.

I like to think of Jesus being as fully human as you or I and I imagine what a joy he received from having this Syrophoenician woman stand up to him basically saying “I know what you can do and my child is worthy of your love too.” In all honesty that might have been an Aha moment in his experience with women also.

Prayer: Lord bless us with the joy of experiencing your presence in the diverse people that population our world. Amen.

*http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/Ethnocentricity

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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Fuel of Love

faith works-nohostLiving in the Spirit
September 4, 2015

Scripture Reading: James 2:1-17

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. –James 2:14-17

Works vs faith, one of the great theological discourses of all times, often finds its way back to this scripture in James. One of my favorite church sign quotes I saw many years ago was “If you don’t live it, you don’t believe it.” But faith is not merely what we believe. Particularly those of us who are inheritors of the science of reason. For what we believe is often rooted in what is provable, what the facts support. Faith is about trust and trust is centered in relationship.

True, it could be argued that trust itself is the result of our testing relationships, keeping a scorecard of how often what was promised was delivered. I am in the process right now of changing from a bank I have used for 30+ years because after hours of time spent on the phone and in actually going to the bank, I cannot access my account since the bank upgraded to a different computer system. I have lost trust in the bank to safely care for my money.

Faith and trust in God goes deeper than a checklist of services delivered or not. It rest in the sure and certain knowledge of God’s eternal, unconditional love. It is that fuel that fires our response to nurture the wellbeing of ourselves and others.

Prayer: Called as partners in Christ’ service, with your love as the source of our love, use our love to nurture the wellbeing of ourselves and 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Clean Washcloths

washclothsLiving in the Spirit
August 28, 2015

Scripture Reading: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.) So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ He said to them, ‘Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
“This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.”
You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.’ –Mark 7:1-8

Several years ago a good friend and I traveled to the Colorado Mountains for a few days of rest and recreation. We stayed in a nice little cabin, which appeared rustic, but really had all the amenities of home plus maid service. There was a sign in the bathroom that said something to the effect that water was a precious resource and they practiced conservation. The sign encouraged us to use the same towel and washcloth while we were there but if we wanted clean ones to leave the used ones on the floor. They would pick them up and replace them with clean ones. The morning of the first day we were there I noticed that my friend had dropped her wash cloth on the floor. So after my shower I picked it up and re-hung it on the rack. She, of course, did not drop it accidently on the floor as she used a fresh washcloth each day. She caught my improper correction before we left for our first adventure and rectified it. I am sure I looked at her like I could not believe she used a different washcloth each day and I am sure she was equally disgusted at the thought that I did not. It was how we were both raised. I doubt, if there have been many scientific studies on the impacts on people’s lives regarding the reuse or not of washcloths or how many reuses are an acceptable number. But  conventions of culture can insert themselves into our spiritual practices causing conflict and diverting our attention away from what God has called us to be and do.

We need to scrutinize our own religious practices to determine if we are teaching human precepts as doctrine and if by so doing we are not only failing to worship God as God wishes to be worshiped but we may also be turning people away from God because of our conventions of culture.

Prayer: Lord, grant us clear understanding of your way, so that we may worship you in truth and welcome those of other cultures to share in worship with us because we all have common ground in your love. Amen.

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

Generous Hearts

generosity-hands-and-heartsLiving in the Spirit
August 27, 2015

Scripture Reading: James 1:17-27

17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18In fulfilment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

Generous hearts are what we are called to demonstrate in our lives. For some, I think being generous of spirit comes naturally. For most of us, it is a life time discipline we must practice until we perfect it. Generosity must be intentional to be meaningful.

A friend who was raised on a farm, as I was, and I were talking to another friend who has always lived in the city about the challenge of dealing with garbage. I really do not remember how we got off on this but, I said, and my friend with a farm background concurred, when we were growing up we tossed our garbage: potato peels, apple cores, left overs that would not keep for another meal out the back door where they were quickly consumed by the free range chickens roaming about the yard—problem solved. Of course if everyone did that in the city, it would result in problem created. What was good stewardship of our planet in one setting was a health hazard in another.

Answering the call to be generous requires us to be thoughtful about the outcomes of our giving. Sometimes our time and talent is needed as much or more than our treasure. Sometimes our treasure provides for the time and talent of others more prepared to address a need than we are.

Prayer: God of the Harvest, gift us with the generosity needed today to make all whole, to make us one, and to bring justice throughout our world. Guide us in the prudent application of such a gift 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God is Love

Bride of ChristLiving in the Spirit
August 26, 2015

Scripture Reading: Psalm 45:1-2, 6-9

I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.

You are the most handsome of men;
grace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you for ever.
Your throne, O God, endures for ever and ever.
Your royal sceptre is a sceptre of equity;
you love righteousness and hate wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

This is a Psalm for a wedding. It certainly has that feel. Where everyone and everything is just perfect and only goodness is celebrated. I suppose it is appropriate for a wedding, but my experience of being in several weddings is they rarely are every this perfect and it is often the imperfections that are remembered with humor at the couples 50th wedding anniversaries. The groom dropped the ring, one of the bridesmaids fainted, or Uncle Charlie got caught in traffic and did not arrive in time to give the bride away. Love is patient, love is kind.

The church is sometimes described as the bride of Christ and while we the church work really hard at perfection and goodness, our daily quest toward Christ’s call is usually fraught with do overs and second chances. My church will celebrate its 85th anniversary next year. We have endured fires and floods, high wind and hail. I do not know if the founders ever dreamed that the church they started in a growing suburban area in 1931 would now be serving a diverse uptown inner city area. The courage and vision it took for those founders to start a church in the clutches of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl in Oklahoma still flows through our veins today. The challenges are different. The elementary school we serve has a student body who are 97% eligible for free lunches and come from families that speak 17 different languages or dialects. They are our neighbors and we love them. God is patient, God is kind.

Prayer: Lord, give us the courage of our ancestors in faith to not only take the love of God to the ends of the earth but to share it with our neighbors right here at home, too. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Take this Cup

kidsheartsLiving in the Spirit
August 22, 2015

Scripture Reading: John 6:56-69

56Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.’ 59He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. –John 6:56-59

Our bodies are wondrously made. With all the scientific research and advancement made over the centuries, I think, we have just skimmed the surface of truly understanding the intricacies of the body’s functions. I was just reading the other day about research connecting the workings of our guts with emotional health. Who knew?

From ancient days the mystery of life, the breath of life its coming and its going, have been fodder for science but also for literature, art, and music. It is a reality with which all must deal, considering their own lives and the lives of others. So what do we as followers of Christ make of his discourse of eating his flesh and drinking his blood? His fellow Jews most likely found this abhorrent. Eating any kind of blood is not kosher and cannibalism is worse.

Is this an example of someone trying to use the shock factor to get others’ attention? Is it a means of reconciling the reality of the crucifixion with the eternal nature of God’s plan for God’s people? Or is it metaphor for encouraging us to be nurtured by the gift of God’s Son in the ways of God?

I do know each time I take the bread blest and broken, and drink from the cup filled with the fruit of the vine, I am made more whole personally and am made more one with all the others who eat the bread and drink from the cup offered in the name of the Lord.

Prayer: Commune with us, O Lord, nurture us to grow in wisdom and in truth so that we may play our role in the furtherance of your way. 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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Sing and Make Music

Gabriel's OboeLiving in the Spirit
August 14, 2015

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:15-20

18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, 20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. –Ephesians 5:18-20

With a voice of singing declare ye this and let it be heard, Alleluia*. My dad loved music, country blues mostly, and we, his children, were thus blessed with his gift of loving music, one of our greatest sources of joy and solace. I read somewhere recently that singing just 10 minutes a day was good for one’s health; it certainly is good for one’s soul. Group singing has been scientifically proven to lower stress, relieve anxiety, and elevate endorphins. **

While my dad did not like opera, I think he enjoyed most popular music along with the country. I like opera but am not too into heavy metal. We all have different taste and music changes over time but music as a universal language continues. The Mission is probably my favorite all time move. It theme music featuring “Gabriel’s Oboe” by Roland Joffé*** could heal the sin sick soul. In the movie Gabriel’s Oboe opened the door to the oneness that grew between the indigent peoples and the priest who came to share the love of God with them. What struck me most about the story is that God was already at work among these natives although they did not know God by the same name the young priest did. This young priest did recognize God in his new friends.

We need to sing and play music as we work toward wholeness and oneness with all of God’s people for it opens our eyes to seeing God in each of us.

With a voice of singing declare ye this, and let it be heard, Alleluia.
Utter it even unto the ends of the earth.
The Lord hath delivered his people, Alleluia.
O be joyful in God, all ye lands,
O sing praises to the honor of his name, make his praise to be glorious*.

Prayer: Help us Lord sing the old songs and sing a new song too. Amen.

*With a Voice of Singing by Martin Shaw see at http://worship-organizer.awtrey.com/library/index.php?id=000318
**Singing Changes Your Brain by Stacy Horn. Time Aug. 16, 2013. http://ideas.time.com/2013/08/16/singing-changes-your-brain/
***Hear at https://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=A211US636&p=Gaberllia+OBoe

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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved

Being the Body of Christ

 

Living in the Spirit
August 13, 2015problem-of-evil

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 5:15-20 Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. –Ephesians 5:15-17

Evil days, I suppose that means times—evil times, but it seems like evil is raising its ugly head every day, several times a day. How else do we make sense of two teenaged brothers, allegedly hacking their parents and three younger siblings to death and injuring seriously a 13 year old sister or a man alleged to have kill eight people including six children, some may have been his own, in what was called a domestic dispute? Two stories plucked from the news are just the tip of the iceberg of dysfunctional families and the dire consequences of their lives. If this is happening in families is it any wonder our world seems to have an unlimited supply of lone-wolf and other terrorist ready to strike at will.

Such tragedies occur in both non-religious and very religious families. Sometimes, I feel, we as the called Body of Christ on the earth today have failed miserably at our task of spreading the good news that God’s love is abundant and does not discriminate. Of course, to spread that news we must love abundantly and not discriminate.

When I was in college, and that was more than a few years ago, I heard the story of another student who was volunteering to help at Sunday school at a local church. A woman came to the church and brought her toddler son. Both were dressed poorly. The child was left in the nursery while the mother attended church and when she picked him up he had a note pinned to his shirt saying something to the effect that children attending this church wear church clothes on Sunday. She never went back.

When discerning the will of God we might start with Micah 6:8: 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?

Prayer: God of grace and God of glory on your people pour your powers* so that we might spread your love throughout the world. Amen.

*from God of Grace and God of Glory by Harry E. Fosdick see at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/g/o/godgrace.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 American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.