Tag Archives: Wholeness

Guided by Love and Grace

Lent

March 11, 2023

Scripture Reading:

John 4:5-42

Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’ –John 4:16-26

The Jews anticipated the coming of the Messiah. In Jewish eschatology, the term mashiach, or “Messiah”, refers specifically to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line, who is expected to save the Jewish nation, and will be anointed with holy anointing oil and rule the Jewish people during the Messianic Age*. Similarly, in Christian theology, Messías [is] literally, “the anointed one,” referring to Jesus as the Christ – supremely empowered by the Holy Spirit to accomplish all of the divine plan**.

The Messiah is a leader worth following. The Messiah, or Christ in Greek, has a plan for our lives built on love, enabled by grace. We were created to participate in establishing God’s divine plan for building the beloved community where we work together as one sharing our diverse talents and skills to create a world where everyone has enough and where are welcomed for who they are as God created each of us in God’s image and recognized us each as good. Working together, we enable each person to be fully the person God created them to be.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for guiding us with your love and your grace. Amen.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messiah_in_Judaism#:~:text=In%20Jewish%20eschatology%2C%20the%20term,people%20during%20the%20Messianic%20Age.

**https://biblehub.com/greek/3323.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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Reconciliation

Lent

March 10, 2023

Scripture Reading Romans 5:1-11

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. –Romans: 5:6-11

My spring Bible Study Group is studying Genesis*. In a video accompanying the study, a Jewish scholar discussed the scene in the garden when Adam and Eve, after disobeying the rule that they could not eat from the tree of good and evil, realized they were naked and began to clothe themselves. He said the Jewish view of that story was that upon discovering they were naked, they had to clothe themselves in doing good deeds to reconcile their failure to follow God’s commandments. I like that interpretation. Firstly, it does not deliver the message that there is something bad about the human body. Secondly, from the very start of life, humans were given the opportunities to find reconciliation with God when we have strayed from doing what is right.

Of course, if you read further into the scripture, we see God kicking Adam and Eve out of the garden and yoking them with hard work and painful birth. What do we make of that? Being reconciled with God frees us to restore justice wherever we can. The pain we may have caused others does not go away merely because we recognize our mistakes. I love the story of John Newton, the author of the hymn, Amazing Grace. He was involved in the slave trade when a killer storm struck the slave ship he was sailing and threatened to kill all aboard. He prayed as a last resort for God to save his life and committed himself to give up the slave trade and serve God fully, which he did. He, indeed, did dedicate his life to Christ’s work. Telling of his reconciliation in his hymn alone has opened the door to God’s Grace for millions worldwide.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for making us whole through your gift of grace. Amen

Invitation to Genesis, A Short-Term Disciple Bible Study, Abingdon Press.

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.

Justified and Graced

Lent

March 9, 2023

Scripture Reading: Romans 5:1-11

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. –Romans 5:1-5

Justified, as used above, means to be made right cleared of all charges through our faith relationship with God. I love the phrase God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. We live, breathe, and have our being (Acts 17:28) with that presence in our lives. We waste much grace when we do not maintain a close relationship with the Holy Spirit poured into our hearts.

My paternal grandmother practiced praying without ceasing. She married and had six children with her first husband, of which the only son died when he was nine. Two years after the boy’s death, her husband was killed in a storm, leaving her to raise those five little girls alone. She remarried a few years later and had three more children, including my father. That couple had been together for about ten years when he died from sepsis. The next year the stock market crashed, starting the Great Depression, and finding my grandmother with a houseful of pre-teens and teenagers living amid the Dust Bowl. Her faith guided her through those times. I was five when she died, but I remember her as a loving woman whom you would never have guessed had dealt with such challenges.

We all need to recognize and relate to God’s presence in all aspects of our lives by always keeping that conversation with God open.

Prayer:
Lord, lift me up, and let me stand
By faith, on heaven’s tableland;
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground**. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/1344.htm

Refrain from the hymn I’m Pressing on the Upward Way by Johnson Oatman, Jr. See at https://hymnary.org/text/im_pressing_on_the_upward_way

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.

Where is Hope?

March 6, 2023

Scripture Reading: Exodus 17:1-7
From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. The people quarreled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ So Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.’ Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’

As I read this scripture, I thought of all the refugees in our world today, most fleeing feared or certain death in their homeland, others trying to protect their children from being pulled from their homes into the drug cartels life, and all stepping out in a great unknown wilderness with hope. We are God’s servants called to welcome these strangers and help them become our neighbors. My church has sponsored two refugee families in the past ten years. The first from a refugee camp in Rwanda, now a self-sustaining, self-supporting family. The other is a recently arriving family from Afghanistan, learning a new language and customs, working at a new job, and welcoming a new baby.

There are no easy answers to the challenges faced by people adrift in the world caught in the crossfires of greed, lust for power, and even climate change. Many layers of response must be well coordinated as we seek to bring about God’s Beloved Community for the whole world and all the people in it. As a wealthy nation, we must start by removing the beam from our eyes before we can even begin to make these strangers our neighbors, whether it involves improving the situation in their homeland or helping them resettle in a new place. Certainly, they must never be the scapegoats for political games.

Prayer: Lord, teach us to welcome the stranger and to open our hearts to them as they become our neighbors, near and far. 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.

Spirit of God

Lent

March 5, 2023

Scripture Reading: John 3:1-17
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, “You must be born from above.” The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ Nicodemus said to him, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

‘Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Who is this teacher, this Jesus, that performs miraculous signs? These signs are real and often related to healing human bodies, but he speaks in terms of Spiritual things we cannot see or touch but are somehow real. The Spirit of God was not a new concept to Nicodemus; it appears 14 times in the Hebrew Bible.

 Shakespeare, in his play Hamlet, may have said it best. In Act 1 Scene 5, Hamlet tells his friend: “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

Jesus is explaining the unexplainable, which is the beginning of faith. Hebrews 11:1 says it this way; Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

God’s love comes to us in many ways, but none more meaningful than the life, death, and resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the wonderous gift of your Spirit. 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.

Being a Light, not a Judge

Lent

March 4, 2023

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:13-20
‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.

‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Our actions do speak louder than words. We can be a light to the world as we strive to follow Christ’s edicts, but we can also turn people away when we do hate-filled actions in Jesus’s name. There is a lot of that going around today. The number of people identifying as Christians in the USA has dropped markedly in recent years. A Pew Research Center study shows that as of 2020, about 64% of Americans identify as Christian. Fifty years ago, that number was 90%. Why would someone want to identify as Christian, whose prime directive is to love God and one another, when treated as outcasts?

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. –John 13:34

Jesus alone was given the assignment of Judging people regarding his rule. Holier-than-thou attitudes turn people away from God.

The Father judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, and he has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man. –John 5:22,27

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we mistreat the very people you have sent us to care about and for.  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.

Spiritual Gifts

Lent

March 3, 2023

Scripture Reading:

1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16)

Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
   nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him’—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. —1 Corinthians 2:6-12

The gifts of the spirit are described in various scriptures starting perhaps with what we call Pentecost (Acts 2:1-47). Romans 12:6-8 talks about the fact that we each received differing gifts, all important and all necessary to complete the work Jesus started and passed on to us following his resurrection. Today’s scripture tells us that we need to understand the gifts God has bestowed on us.

What I have experienced in many years of church work is that a lot is done by hard-working, well-intended people like me, whose skills in some things are at best average, but the work needed to be done, and so we do the best we can. One of the things we need to work at harder is helping others understand the gifts God has bestowed on them and give them the support they need to use them. We need to be enablers. I am a member of an advocacy group that posts concerns on social media. I can write, but most people are visual, and what is written is best received if it has some artwork with it. Another person in our group does beautiful and very appropriate graphics. So, I write something and send it to her and she surrounds it with art that makes it more meaningful.

Do we understand what our gifts are, and are we investing in using them and making them even better? Are we identifying the things that need to be done, and no one else has volunteered to do them? If so, are we identifying those with the needed skills and encouraging them to give the work a shot?

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gifts of your Spirit; guide us in using them wisely, including supporting others in using their gifts. 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.

Fearing the Lord

Lent

March 1, 2023
Scripture Reading: Psalm 112:1-9
Praise the Lord!
Happy are those who fear the Lord,
who greatly delight in his commandments.
Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
For the righteous will never be moved;
they will be remembered forever.
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.
Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever;
their horn is exalted in honor.

It was recently announced that former President Jimmy Carter, who has been under treatment for cancer for some time, has elected to forego any future treatment and receive hospice care. I thought of him as I read this scripture. Carter is viewed as an anomaly, a nice guy but generally a lackluster President. On his second day as president, Carter pardoned all Vietnam War draft evaders. His administration established the United States Department of Energy and the Department of Education. He also created a national energy policy that included conservation, price control, and new technology. Carter successfully pursued the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties, and the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks*. His presidency ended on the heels of the Iran hostage crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the Three Mile Island accident, the Nicaraguan Revolution, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. All threats from outside sources and outside his control, but beyond the public’s patience in his dealing with the issues.

He of course, did not stop there. Out of office, he championed Habitat for Humanity. In 1982, he established the Carter Center to promote and expand human rights, which earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He traveled extensively to conduct peace negotiations, monitor elections and further the eradication of infectious diseases*. I do think he is happy in the fear/awe of the Lord. And he is an excellent example of how we all must rise in the darkness as a light for the upright.

Prayer: Lord, guide us to be a light for the upright. Amen.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#:~:text=On%20his%20second%20day%20as,price%20control%2C%20and%20new%20technology.

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.

Created for a Purpose

Lent

February 28, 2023

Scripture Reading: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.”’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Why do we suppose God put a tree in the garden and then said yes, that tree is there, but the humans were told not to eat from it? Why plant it in the first place? Is God testing humans to see if they will mind God? Or is God testing them to see, if they can think for themselves, good or bad? Why was this story included in the creation saga, so the humans to come, us, would read it? What exactly do we think God wanted us to glean from this account? What is the bigger picture?

First, being made in the image of God sets humans apart from other animals. Psalm 8 describes it this way:
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
   the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
   mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them a little lower than God*,
   and crowned them with glory and honor. –Psalm 8:3-5

Second, due to this designation, humans were set apart to partner with God in God’s great creation undertaking. To be a good steward of God’s work, we must differentiate what is good and what is not, and we are called to do the good that Jesus Christ modeled for us.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we miss the mark in our service to you. Help us not to be distracted by the ways of the world that are harmful to the development of the Beloved Community. Amen.

*This is from the NRSV. Some translations use the word angels rather than God.

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.

Procreation

Lent

February 27, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.” ’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

Have you ever wondered why we are so hung up on our sexuality? Are our attitudes toward sex the heredity left to us by our Puritan ancestors? Or does it go all the way back to the scripture that says Adam and Eve were tempted to eat the fruit of Good and Evil? They were awakened to their nakedness. Indeed, knowing the difference between good and evil sets humans apart from other animals. As the creation story begins, humans were made in the image of God, indicating that we were set apart as sentient beings—marked by the stimulation or exercise of the senses or of conscious perception*. The challenge of the Genesis story is that procreation with conscious perception is necessary if the world God created is to thrive. It was the first instance of God calling humans to partner in God’s work to care for the earth and everything in it. Taking that step may have created the necessity for humans to discern good from evil, but its success also requires us humans to comprehend good from evil and practice the good in all aspects of our being. Sex in and of itself is not evil or shameful. It is like all parts of our lives are susceptible to the evils that confront us, like lust for power, greed, misogyny, etc.

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to the evil that misguides us in completing our responsibilities of building your beloved community. Amen.

*https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/sentient

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.