Tag Archives: Seeing Christ in All People

Holy Spirit Come

Pentecost

June 1, 2020

Scripture Reading:
Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? . . . All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ 13But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’ –Acts 2:1-8, 12-13

I turned off the TV after hearing about the protests of the police killing of George Floyd, another black man killed in a long string of black people being killed primarily for being black. That coupled with the knowledge that: Nearly 23% of reported Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. are African American as of May 20, even though black people make up roughly 13% of the U.S. population, according to the data* probably as the saying goes, broke the camels back. We now have protests across our land, some turning into riots. Some being infiltrated with extremists trying to make them worse. The protestors in Oklahoma City were at an intersection about a mile from my house when I went to bed. I could not hear them, but I listened to the helicopters circling above my home.

I flashed back to when I was a 20-year-old college student in 1968, lying in bed in my apartment located about a mile from where the black residents of Enid lived. Martin Luther King Jr. had been killed earlier that day. There was rioting in the black part of town with fires and explosions that I could hear. I did not understand why the blacks were destroying their own buildings. Loss of hope, perhaps that discrimination will never end. There is history to give credence to that fear. This year Tulsa, Oklahoma is observing the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Riots. There the black section of Tulsa was called the Black Wall Street.  It was thriving when a group of white people burned it down.

Is Pentecost still real? Are we capable of creating and living in a world where all can communicate and understand one another? The Holy Spirit can always empower us to see Christ in all of God’s children. We can appreciate each person and all people for the gifts that God instilled in them at their creation. Let us make it so.

Prayer: God, forgive us for our foolish ways**, grant us wisdom, grant us courage*** for the facing of this hour. Amen.

*https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/27/as-us-coronavirus-deaths-cross-100000-black-americans-bear-disproportionate-share-of-fatalities.html
**From the hymn Dear Lord and Father of Mankind see at https://hymnary.org/text/dear_lord_and_father_of_mankind
***From God of Grace and God of Glory see at https://hymnary.org/text/god_of_grace_and_god_of_glory

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.

See Christ in Everyone

Advent
December 21, 2017

Scripture Reading: Romans 16:25-27

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

I like Russell Westbrook and commiserate with him when he takes his rest with bags of ice wrapped around his knees. Having had both of mine replaced, I understand some of the challenges of dealing with bad knees. Of course, my chosen profession did not require a well-honed body, which his job as a point guard does. I doubt that the injury he sustained to his knee had much to do with his primary characteristic that garners my respect. He has the tenacity to pursue his goal of winning basketball games that is unsurpassed in the sport. Part of that job is enabling other players to excel. Paul is calling all of Christ’s follower to be tenacious in our work to be Christ’s body in the world today including enabling all of God’s children to excel. The promise that God will strengthen us in such an enterprise accompanies that call.

I recently read someone’s disgruntled reaction as he tried to help the poor and found those he worked with to be unappreciative of his work and unwilling to do anything to help themselves. In 50 years of working with the poor, I too have encounters a few folks like that. They are still children of God made in God’s image, and we still must find ways to help them transition from dependence to be self-sustaining, self-supporting adults. I remember well a couple of families with whom I worked who fit this disgruntled helper’s description. In both instances upon returning to my office to write up a plan of service, I found myself writing as a first goal to change the outcomes for the children. Whether we like it or not, our parents strongly influence who we become. Breaking the cycle of poverty is hard. Think how lost you would be if your life turned upside down and you were on the streets with no place to go and children to feed. What would you do? How do you think that experience would impact your descendants?

I moved away from my hometown some years ago and had since learned that some of the children of those parents, I had written off as impossible, succeeded in school and work. One day while visiting my Mom, I took her to the Walmart store to pick up a few things and ran into one of those impossible adults, a father I had determined to be incorrigible.  He was washing the big windows in the front of the store. I spoke to him, and he grinned at me. Clearly, he was not as hopeless as I had judged him to be.

Prayer: God, strengthen us in your love so that we might see Christ in everyone. 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.

Walking on Water

Living in the Spirit
August 13, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 14:22-33

Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’ –Matthew 14:28-33

Is it human nature to doubt? Do we project our life experiences with other people onto God rather than see Christ in every human? We have all let someone down and we have all experienced the sting of being let down by a trusted other. Humans are not perfect. Our first insight about another is usually based on cultural norms. How often do we experience seeing the Christ in someone first?

It is rare, but I had that happen recently. I was having trouble with my phone, had sat on hold once for 40 minutes waiting for the “next available” customer service rep, and was thus very frustrated. I decided to drive to a store that related to my phone company to solve my problem. I was not happy. The first person I encountered was a very nice young man who immediately agreed to see what my problem was as he took the phone and started punching buttons. Suddenly, I noticed that his attention was drawn to looking down at my side where a frightened five or six-year-old little girl stood. He said to her, “ Do you need something?” She said, “I can’t find my mother.” He asked her what her name was and said, “Let me see if I can help.” He then looked at me and said, “Excuse me just a moment” and called someone in the store to announce over the speaker that this girl needed to meet her party at the electronics desk. He said to the little girl, “ I’m sure your mother will be her soon.” As she looked around furtively, he continued to work on my phone, and in a few moments a worried mother rounded the corner and reunited with her daughter. The young man said to the mother, “Your daughter did everything right, she immediately came to me for help.” I did see Christ in this young man before I could ever see anything else.

Peter saw the Christ in Jesus as he stepped from the boat then doubt grabbed at his legs, but he reached up his hand in faith again recognizing God in Jesus who saved him. Our challenge as Christ’s followers is to let the world see Christ in us relying on Christ to fortify us when doubt strikes.

 Prayer: Lord, forgive me when I cave to doubt, restore me to wholeness, and help me see the Christ in all others by looking past my preconceived judgments. 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.