Living in the Spirit

June 27, 2023

Scripture Reading: Psalm 13
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
   How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I bear pain in my soul,
   and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
   Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
and my enemy will say, ‘I have prevailed’;
   my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

But I trusted in your steadfast love;
   my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
   because he has dealt bountifully with me.

The pain of feeling forgotten runs deep. My church has a list of homebound people with whom we try to remain in contact. Busy lives interfere at times, and our best intentions sometimes end up sending that card or making that call tomorrow. Too often, tomorrow gets bypassed also. The other side of maintaining contact involves those for whom short-term memory is slipping away. I was walking down the hall to my mother’s room in the nursing facility where she lived when I met my sister a few doors away from Mom’s room which she had just left. We greeted each other and exchanged a couple of comments, but she was on her lunch break and had to hurry back to her job.  I walked down the hall and turned into Mom’s room, where she greeted me, saying, “I am so glad you came I have not seen anyone for days.”

I sense that God is always alert and available, unlike humans. Feeling God’s absence most likely indicates that we are the one who has become estranged. Life can be hard. Often solutions and responses are difficult to achieve, particularly as quickly as we want to make things right. I think that having to sit for a while during those hard times teaches lessons from which we benefit. And so, the Psalmist did contemplate their situation and returned to trust in God’s steadfast love. We, too, can trust in God’s steadfast love.

Prayer:
Day by day, dear Lord,
of thee three things I pray;
to see thee more clearly,
to love thee more dearly,
to follow thee more nearly,
day by day*. Amen.

The song Day by Day,  Author (attributed to): Richard of Chichester, see at https://hymnary.org/text/day_by_day_dear_lord

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 the Spirit

June 26, 2023

Scripture Reading: Genesis 22:1-14

When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’ And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’ Genesis 22:9-14

For me, this is one of the most perplexing stories in the Bible. Was God testing Abraham’s commitment? Does God test our commitment? Was Issac damaged emotionally by this event? The only thing we really know about Isaac is that he fathered Esau and Jacob. It is sometimes hard to be the son of a great man like Abraham.

How do we relate to God? Through prayer and meditation, we can commune with God. Finding our faith avocation and fulfilling it to the best of our abilities may be the best way we let God know of our commitment to building God’s beloved community.

I do not know why Isaac had to experience the events on that mountaintop, but I am sure that God loved him and held him in God’s care forever.

Prayer: Lord, we may not know why bad things happen to innocent people, but we do rely on the power of your love to make those who experience bad things to make them whole. 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 the Spirit

June 25, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Matthew 10:24-39

‘So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. –Matthew 10:26-31.

God with us is a salve for the soul. Life is frightening at times. Oklahoma has been peppered with severe storms this month, with many people being left in the dark with no electricity and 90-degree heat. Our political leaders seem to be more concerned with cultural issues than with government purposes.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Rather than providing tranquility, some politicians create agitation and disharmony. They ignore the general welfare. We are a country where poverty is the fourth leading cause of death, but poverty is being ignored in the halls of Congress. Some of our leaders want to take our liberty away from us by interfering in our personal lives.

We must trust in God to guide us in dealing with the world about us and have the courage to face head-on those who are trying to protect their greed and advance their power to control us.

Prayer: Lord, your presence is a healing stream for the confusion of our times. Help us turn to you in our frustration and learn to live in your righteousness and justice, being able to differentiate between your ways and the world’s ways. 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 the Spirit

June 24, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Romans 6:1b-11
What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

I am reading the book The Genesis of Good and Evil: The Fall (Out) and Original Sin in the Bible by Mark S. Smith. I stumbled on to it while my Bible study group was studying Genesis.  We had a very interesting discussion of Adam and Eve being kicked out of Eden. We were all in agreement that that might have been a necessary step in the development of society in the world. At some point, we must always allow a child to make decisions and learn from their mistakes as much as we have tried to train them in doing the right ways. I was surprised when I discovered this book that it was considering that same issue.

I read the first part of the above scripture, and these recent reading experiences came to mind. Apparently, some of the people who chose to follow Christ thought that the more forgiveness they received, the more grace would abound. Paul assured them that was not the way faith works. Growing in grace enables them to spread more of God’s love in building the beloved community.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for gifting us with grace. Open our hearts in minds to find the best way to live in your grace. 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 the Spirit

June 23, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 69:7-10, (11-15), 16-18

Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
   according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
Do not hide your face from your servant,
   for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.
Draw near to me, redeem me,
   set me free because of my enemies.—Psalm 69:16-18

Have you ever felt that God had deserted you? My mother died on January 13, 2007. For the first few weeks, I probably was just in shock, but eventually, I got the feeling that my evening prayers were not getting passed the ceiling of my bedroom.  My mother was 98 years old and had been bedfast for a few months. The day before she died, her last words to me were, “I want to go home.” I understood she wanted to go home to God. She slipped away that night. Even with those circumstances, losing a loved one causes grief, and the loss, even in rejoicing in her homecoming, still made it hard.

God understands grief and is always present with us, even in our darkest times.  There are times we just feel we have lost our way. Saint John of the Cross called that the dark night of the soul. The term “dark night (of the soul)” is used as referring to spiritual dryness, the absence of experiencing the presence of God, but also more generally “to describe an extremely difficult and painful period in one’s life”*

These are times not to turn away from God but to dive deeper into exploring a relationship with God.  For me, music does charm my savage beasts. Meditation may help some. Going on walks or running in the presence of God may help.  Reading the Psalms and picking your favorite quote to claim for yourself will bring God closer to you. I have claimed Psalm 63, which begins:

O God, you are my God, I seek you,
   my soul thirsts for you;
y 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.

God is present, open your heart to God.

Prayer: Lord, during my darkest moments, guide me to find the help I need to find my way back to you. Amen.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Night_of_the_Soul#Commentaries_by_John_of_the_Cross

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 the Spirit

June 22, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Psalm 69:7-10, (11-15), 16-18

It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;
   the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
When I humbled my soul with fasting,
   they insulted me for doing so.
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
   I became a byword to them.
I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,
   and the drunkards make songs about me.

But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
   At an acceptable time, O God,
   in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me.
With your faithful help rescue me from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.
| do not let the flood sweep over me,
   or the deep swallow me up,
   or the Pit close its mouth over me. –Psalm 69:9-15

I was in Washington DC, most of this week visiting Oklahoma’s Congressional delegates and attending The Poor People’s Campaign semi-annual Congress to review what we had accomplished and consider our goals for the future. A very fruitful time that wore me out. Being around so many dedicated, wonderful people was a privilege. Still, we were brought back to a stone-cold reality as we listened to reports on the state of poverty in our country. The target of our work was the fact that poverty ranks fourth in the USA as the cause of death after Heart disease, Cancer, and Smoking*. If we could end poverty, we would end many of the ills that haunt us, including reducing the incidence of heart disease, cancer, and smoking. Poverty is not a catchy 30-second sound bite that can stir people to act like a kitten stuck in a manhole that we can all cheer about when it is rescued. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for saving kittens. Poverty, however, is insidious–acting or spreading by imperceptible degrees: harmful, damaging, or destructive in a way that is gradual, hidden, or not easily noticed**. It will take perseverance and fortitude to chip out its negative influence on our world.

Prayer: Lord, help us do our part to erase poverty from our world. Amen.

*https://bradydave.files.wordpress.com/2023/05/jamainternal_brady_2023_ld_230002_1681398079.12692.pdf
**https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/insidious

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 the Spirit

June 19, 2023

Scripture Reading: Genesis 21:8-21

The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.’ The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. But God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named after you. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.’ So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. –Genesis 21:8-14

What is of God, and what is of culture? How do we weave culture into our faith while letting faith be the driving force in our lives?  In Abraham’s culture, a wife held a higher status than a slave. Sarah had failed to have a child, and descendants were necessary for that culture, so Sarah used her slave to conceive a child for her. He was named Ismael.  Years later, Sarah became pregnant and had Isaac. The first child inherited the family business in that culture, and Sarah wanted that inheritance to go to her child, Abrahams’s younger child.

While this story may seem odd to us, we, too, must deal with what is of God and what is of culture and how we weave the two together. We deal with these issues every day. I recently read in the newspaper that the Southern Baptist Church announced that women could no longer be pastors in their churches. That decision was based on their understanding of the Bible. Some of that culture was shaped by the ancient cultures of people like Abraham that are still past down to us today. I am not sure there are any pastors described in the Bible. The Jewish religion had Rabbis and prophets. The word Pastor only appears in one place Ephesians 4.11: The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers (NRSV). Strongs uses the word Evangelist instead of pastor to translate the Greek word euaggelistésas, someone with a vocational calling from God to announce the good news of the Gospel*. I believe we are all called to announce the good news of the Gospel; some are called by God to make it their vocation. I also appreciate the saying, Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words (attributed to St. Francis).

*https://biblehub.com/greek/2099.htm

Prayer: Lord, you call us each to serve in many ways. Give us the courage to find the best outlet for your calling and to fulfill it with all our hearts. 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 the Spirit

June 20, 2023

Scripture Reading: Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
   for I am poor and needy.
Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
   save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; be gracious to me, O Lord,
   for to you do I cry all day long.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
   for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
   abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
   listen to my cry of supplication.
In the day of my trouble I call on you,
   for you will answer me.

I am a member of the Poor People’s Campaign—A National Call for Moral Revival.  In 1968, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many others called for a “revolution of values” in America. They sought to build a broad, fusion movement that could unite poor and impacted communities across the country. Their name was a direct cry from the underside of history: The Poor People’s Campaign. Shortly after this vision was put forth, Dr. King was assassinated, and his vision was never fully implemented.  In 2018, Rev. Dr. William Barber II set forth to call together a group to foster that Moral Revival.

We live in a wasteland of poverty, with over 140,000,000* people in the USA living in poverty. The problem we must first address before we can make headway on assuring that everyone has enough to meet their basic needs is the poverty of our souls tied up in the modern-day idolatry of greed and lust for power. Jesus calls us to love God and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:39) I have come to believe that what we are missing in answering that calling is loving ourselves. For some reason, we seemed to have adopted a worldview that to be of worth; we must be better than others. That results in the twisted truth that we do love our neighbors as we love ourselves with an inferiority complex that we try to correct by putting others down.  

All people are created by God, and all people were deemed to be good. Once we can each accept that fact, we can build the world as a beloved community where all have enough.

Prayer: Lord, heal our souls, make us whole, make us one. Amen.

* https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/140-million-maps/

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.