Tag Archives: Renewal

Dry Bones

Lent

March 20, 2023

Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14

The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all round them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.’

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’ I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. –Ezekiel 37:1-10

We are surrounded by death. Within the span of the COVID outbreak, 6,819,378 worldwide have died from COVID, 1,151,279 of them from the United States. More are added every day. Over 50,000 bodies have been found in the Turkey/Syria earthquake, and there may be more to find. Just over 9,000 civilians were killed in the first year of the Ukraine War, not counting the lost soldiers. Mass shootings are reported routinely now in the USA.

This plague of deaths that surrounds us has taken a toll on our mental health, just as the valley of dry bones Ezekiel describes in his vision was taking a toll on Israel. These dry bones are a vivid measure of our challenges as we strive to serve God more nearly. Ezekiel’s goal was to remind the Hebrews and us today that God is still God and is still working God’s purpose out, and we remain the workforce to implement our role in God’s plan.

God is working this purpose out
as year succeeds to year;
God is working this purpose out,
and the time is drawing near;
nearer and nearer draws the time,
the time that shall surely be:
when the earth shall be filled with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea*.  

Prayer: God, please help us see how we fit in working your purpose out and guide us in carrying out our calling.   Amen.

*The first verse of the hymn God is Working His Purpose Out  by Arthur Campbell Ainger see at https://hymnary.org/text/god_is_working_his_purpose_out#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.

Learn from Our Mistakes

Living in the Spirit

June 29, 2021

Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27

Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
   In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles,
   they were stronger than lions.

O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
   who clothed you with crimson, in luxury,
   who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

How the mighty have fallen
   in the midst of the battle!

Jonathan lies slain upon your high places.
   I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
greatly beloved were you to me;
   your love to me was wonderful,
   passing the love of women.

How the mighty have fallen,
   and the weapons of war perished!

The world has had too much death over the past year, and still, more to come. Our enemy is not a mighty military but a tenacious, tiny virus that will not give up easily morphing from one attack scheme to another. Well-trained armies envy such tenacity and cunning. We in the USA are particularly shattered by COVIDs strength unaccustomed to having the highest death rates among the nations from a virus. We have lost our sense of self as a nation if, indeed, countries can have a self.

David watched Saul fail in leadership, sometimes from afar, running from Saul’s anger. I sense that David knew he would outlast Saul. His relationship with Saul was tenuously tied to Saul’s mood and what David could do for Saul. Jonathan, however, was a dear and precious friend of long-standing.  Saul and Jonathan’s deaths marked a new beginning for Israel with the eventual reign of its greatest King, David. He was a mighty warrior, a keen politician, a musician, a writer, and all too human.

Our battle with COVID is not over, but I pray we learn the proper lessons from it. First, we must address our weaknesses and learn from our mistakes. To do that, we must face who we have become as a nation, as a world, and decide how we want to remold ourselves toward doing what is right and just. The last sentence of David’s poem quoted above gives us a good hint of the direction we must take. The weapons of war and the lust for power that engages them do not work.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we depend on the weapons of the world to protect us. Help us follow your model of love and caring for others. Amen.

Renew the Church

Lent
March 25, 2019

Scripture Reading: Joshua 5:9-12

he Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.’ And so that place is called Gilgal to this day. –Joshua 5:9

The story before this verse is straightforward. God saved the Israelites from the Egyptians but once in the desert they stopped following the ways of God as illustrated in circumcision. All the males who fled Egypt were circumcised but the practice was discontinued in the desert. Two generations passed, 40 years, before they were ready to enter the promised land. All the people who fled Egypt were dead and all the males left were uncircumcised.  Thus, when God opened the River Jordan for the Israelites to pass into the promised land Joshua reinstated the covenantal act of circumcised re-establishing their relationship with God.

I must confess I am guilty of changing my daily routines when I travel. Doing yoga every day is essential for my arthritic body to move well but I never seem to find time to do it on the road. I  apparently think sugary foods that I would never eat at home are necessary on a trip. I also act differently when my electricity is off for some reason. There is not much one could do without electricity. I have never taken a 40-year trip, nor have I experienced loss of electricity for more than a week. It appears though that the Israelites adapted to a permanent state of disruption throughout their journey until one or two generations had passed away. The interesting thing to me is not that they drifted away from who they were meant to be. Some apparently kept the faith, held on to the knowledge of God until the time was ripe for the whole people to reconnect with God.

Throughout the history of God, a small fragment of people of faith have carried forward the ways of God. God loves us and wants us to be one in a kingdom ruled by love. God is dedicated to making that so. We should be too.

Prayer:
Renew your church, our ministries restore:
both to serve and adore.
Make us again as salt throughout the land,
and as light from a stand.
‘Mid somber shadows of the night,
where greed and hatreds spread their blight,
O send us forth with power endued,
help us, Lord, be renewed*. [Amen]

*First verse of Renew the Church by Kenneth Lorne Cober see at https://hymnary.org/text/renew_thy_church_her_ministries_restore

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 Cure for Being Weary

Lent
March 20, 2019

Scripture Reading: Psalm 63:1-8

O God, you are my God, I seek you,
   my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
   as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
   beholding your power and glory.Because your steadfast love is better than life,
   my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
   I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

 My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
   and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
   and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
   and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
   your right hand upholds me.

This is my Psalm although I am happy to share it with others. I am sure I had read it before I entered spiritual direction training, but I discovered the depth of its spirit in that context. I find it especially comforting in these days of divisiveness, violence, and hate. It is easy to grow weary in such an environment. Spending quality time with God is always important. Renewing faith in love is crucial. This scripture helps me in both.

I found it interesting that the developers of the Lectionary I use chose only to use the first eight verses as do I for meditation. The last three lines are full of vengeance toward enemies. I guess I have grown weary of that also. The Psalmist though may have stumbled on to something that is helpful. It is a lot better to rant and rave to God when we feel a need to wish others ill will. If we get it out of our system before God, the path is paved for us to deal with others in the ways of God. Another of my Psalms is 51:10: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Our recognition of the trash in our hearts is the first step toward gaining that right spirit.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for listening to me sputter and spout about the actions of others over which I have no control. Help me to realize that I may not be seeing the full picture, that I never know another’s full situation and they do not know mine. Make us one in love, O Lord, make us one. 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.

Winnow/Filter

Jesus’ Ministry 
January 12, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ –Luke 3:15-17

I need a good winnower. Raised on a farm, I have seen the wheat shafts being separated from the kernels. It is the kernels from which we and other animals draw nutrition and strength.

Our lives need routine winnowing. I call it filtering as more people understand that process today than winnowing. We change our heat and air filters and are astounded by how much yuck they capture. Our cities filter the water we drink to take out harmful elements. We change air filters and oil filters and I do not know what else to maintain our cars in peak operating order. Christ cleanses us of those things that separates us from God.  In like manner we, I think, are called to winnow the world removing those things that are unjust in God’s eyes.

One of the most stubborn things that separates us from God are those prejudicial ideas that clog our thinking when we fail to love our neighbors as we love ourselves because we do not see our neighbors as being like ourselves. God put no limitations on who we are to love, and neither should we because all people are God’s children and our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Prayer: Lord keep my filter clean so that I can love unconditionally like Jesus. 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.

Renewal of Faith Strength

the-transfigurationEpiphany
February 6, 2016

Scripture Reading: Luke 9:28-36

Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. –Luke 9:28-32

I know what it is like to be weighed down with sleep. While reading a book, I may want to finish just to the end of the chapter but my eyes just will not stay open. I don’t know how many times I have turned on the 10:00 pm news only to wake up in the middle of one of the late shows having missed the weather forecast for the next day, my primary reason for watching. In neither case, my actions were not the result of lack of interest.

I do not think I have ever had that happen while waiting for the doctor to come and report outcomes for a loved one in the hospital. During those times, my whole body is engaged. In the Transfiguration, Jesus was fully engaged; his disciples were not. Their levels of commitment were different. Because the disciples did not give in to the weight of sleep, they caught a glimpse of God’s glory that, I have no doubt, transformed their lives forever.

How do we remain fully engaged in our faith journey? First, it is a good idea to take care of our physical and mental needs. We know the drill: eat right, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep. We need to do the same thing with our souls. We need to nourish ourselves through study, keep faithful in worship, and most importantly of all, take time each day to rest in the Lord.

Prayer: God, when I fall short, as I surely will, of maintaining well the engagement of my soul, let your grace be present with me to give me a glimpse of your glory that will renew my faith strength. 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.

Justice for All

jesus-weeps-over-jerusalemEastertide
May 5, 2015

Scripture Reading: Acts 10:44-48

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

So what are some of our “circumcision” issues today? Race, marriage, and gender all have surfaced recently to challenge the church’s inclusiveness. We, Christians, do not like to include race on this list. We think we have grown past that. But I must ask is there any relationship  between the continuing fact that the church is one of the most segregated places in America and the continuing discrimination in our country based on race? We who are called to do justice are living in an environment where there is little or no justice for people of color. The private prison industry gets rich off our taxes paying for prisoners serving sentences for non-violent crimes who are disproportionally persons of color. The only winners in that situation are the fat cats raking in the profits. Our sins of omission in dealing with racism at every level enables that.

It has been interesting tracking the Supreme Court arguments about what marriage is or is not. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was quick to point out that the definition of marriage has always been in flux. It is interesting to me that we hold our definition of marriage as one man and one woman as a sacred standard when about 40 to 50 percent of married couples in the United States divorce. The divorce rate for subsequent marriages is even higher.* As a purely governmental issue, it would seem to me that all people should have the equal rights to determine rights of inheritance, rights to make decision about health care and children, and rights of holding property in common. The question the church must grapple with is how we determine what God has joined together.

Equal pay for equal work seems to me also to be and equal rights issues as far as the government is concerns. What role, if any, has the church played in fostering the undervaluing of women? What is it that undergirds a society’s will to accept that the pay of $00.78** for women is equal to the pay of $1.00 for men? This issue has been on the table forever, but the church seems to ignore it as a justice issue they are called to address.

I am sick of watching cities burn one more time and cannot image what God must be thinking about it. The image of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem comes to mind. Why do we have to have major crises before we fix anything? The same injustice was going on all the way back to Isaiah and Amos. Are we being called to finally get it right?

Prayer: Lord, order our lives to work toward your system of justice and righteousness. Meld our definitions of what is right with yours. Cleanse our hearts and plant the seeds of new life in Christ in each of us. Amen.

*http://www.apa.org/topics/divorce/

**http://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/Women-to-men-earnings-ratio-wage%20gap-txt.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.