Tag Archives: Wholeness

The Source of Life

Ordinary Time

January 16, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 2:1-11

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

I hosted a singer from Europe several years ago while she was touring churches in the USA when she sang at our church. I was notified ahead of time I would need to stock wine for her to drink as she never drank water. I wondered what I had gotten into but I went to the liquor store and found the wine she required. It was an inexpensive common wine, which surprised me. I thought I was dealing with a diva. She was a wonderful person and I enjoyed her company. Raised, in eastern Europe, she learned early that the water in her community was not safe to drink and everyone’s water, including the children’s, was laced with a little wine to kill the deadly germs in the water supply.  She only added enough of the red wine to turn her water pink. With her career taking her all over the world, she treated every venue in the same manner.

I do not know what symbolism John intended when he wrote the above scripture, but reading it just now reminded me of my European guest. Turning water into wine was a life-saving act to her and most likely was true in first-century Israel.  John continues this theme a little later in the book when he quotes Jesus as saying, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) We are called to be in the world but not of the world and we are called to live and love like Jesus no matter where in the world we might find ourselves.

Prayer: God, enable me to follow your lead in interacting with the people whose paths I cross.  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.

God’s Abundance

Ordinary Time

January 10, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
   and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,
until her vindication shines out like the dawn,
   and her salvation like a burning torch.
The nations shall see your vindication,
   and all the kings your glory;
and you shall be called by a new name
   that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
   and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
   and your land shall no more be termed Desolate;
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
   and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
   and your land shall be married.
For as a young man marries a young woman,
   so shall your builder marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
   so shall your God rejoice over you.

God has always wanted the best for all God’s people. However, problems arise when trying to discern God’s best from the world’s definition of best. So, how does God describe the best—being loved and loving others. Jesus explains that at John 10:10b, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” “More abundantly” means beyond what is anticipated, exceeding expectation; “more abundant,” going past the expected limit*. How do we measure abundance–how the world measures abundance with more excellent salaries, bigger homes, and fancy cars? Or do we perceive the abundant life as abounding fullness of joy and strength for spirits, souls, and healthy bodies? Jesus set the minimum in Mathew 25:34b-36, Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick, and you took care of me I was in prison, and you visited me. Abundance is not measured by wealth but starts when all have enough of the necessities to grow and flourish as God created them become.

Prayer: Lord, as we work toward a world where all have enough, let us also celebrate the advancement of our ability to strengthen our spirits and souls. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/4053.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.

Blowing in the Wind

Christmastide

January 5, 2022

Scripture Reading: Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
   worship the Lord in holy splendor.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
   the God of glory thunders,
   the Lord, over mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
   the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
   the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
   and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
   the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,
   and strips the forest bare;
   and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
   the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
   May the Lord bless his people with peace!

A year ago today, I got my first COVID vaccination. A few days later, a friend asked if I had had any reaction, and I had to stop and think about it. The answer was no, I did not believe I had any response to the shot, but I really would not know. The next day was January 6, 2021, the day a crowd of people stormed the US Capitol and tried to stop the certification of our recent election. I spent the day watching it all unfold on TV, and yes, I was sick, sick at heart, and sick for our country. Since that time, I have tried to understand why that happened and what was going on across our land.

I do not have the answer, but I have paid a lot more attention to the prophets’ writings because they saw the same reactions among the peoples of the land of Israel. They eventually split and were overrun by other countries. The House of Israel was dispersed, and the House of Judah was ultimately taken into exile. I do not think anyone wants that to happen to us. I honestly do not think we know what we want. We seek wealth and power and privilege and try to out-religion each other. Yet our needs are not met.

Bob Dylan wrote a song that addressed this issue, The Answer My Friend is Blowing in the Wind. Jesus put it this way, 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.‘—John 3:8. We, indeed, are looking in all the wrong places when the answer has been with us since creation. Perhaps the time has come when we must ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for looking in all the wrong places for what you provided from the being. 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.

Terrible Twos of Faith

Christmastide

January 2, 2022

Scripture Reading:
John 1:(1-9), 10-18

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.”‘) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. John 1:10-18

We are a world, nation, state, city, and home caught on the cusp of being the people God created us to be or not. We are caught in the terrible twos of spiritual maturation. How we respond will carve our future. The terrible twos in the study of human maturation refers to a normal stage in a child’s development in which a toddler can regularly bounce between reliance on adults and a newly burgeoning desire for independence. The symptoms vary between children but can include frequent mood changes and temper tantrums*. In one way or another, we hear adults expressing similar frustration as we strive to transition from one form of being to one with more responsibility.

Our societal maturation follows a similar path. Jesus came to demonstrate in person the better way, the moral way, to transition into a positive world at all levels. He taught love, forgiveness, oneness, and justice, setting an example for all to follow as parents try to help their children develop. I guess his faith’s terrible twos came in the desert when the devil tried to distract him with wealth and power, and he withstood those temptations to usher in the movement toward a world and all that is in it that is ruled by love**.

Prayer: God, forgive us when we give up on growing in Spirit and truth. Grant us the peace of your love to help us through the difficult times caused by the world’s distractions. Amen.

*https://www.verywellfamily.com/terrible-twos-and-your-toddler-2634394#:~:text=The%20%22terrible%20twos%22%20refers%20to,mood%20changes%20and%20temper%20tantrums.

**Luke 4:1-13

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 Word

Christmastide

January 1, 2022

Scripture Reading: John 1:(1-9), 10-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. –John 1:1-9

In my college Spanish course, my class was given the assignment to write a poem in Spanish. I was barely adequate at Spanish. I could read it but never was good at understanding it when spoken to me. I did fancy myself as a bit of a poet, so the assignment was, I thought, perfectly designed for me. I wrote my poem in English and very carefully translated it into Spanish. The professor collected our poems and then handed them back randomly to members of the class and asked us to translate them back into English.  The poem I wrote was full of allegory and loaded with deeper meaning. The poor guy who got my poem did not get far in translating it much less understanding it. The words he chose were correct, their application made little sense. The poem I was assigned was simple and straightforward. Even I could translate its meaning even if I could not make it rhyme. I recall that experience when I try to make sense of various parts of the Bible where deeper meanings are harder to discern. John writes beautifully but I am glad I did not have to translate his work into English for all to understand.

What are we to make of “the Word” in the above scripture? It is derived from the Greek word légō and it is complicated:

3056 lógos (from 3004 /légō, “speaking to a conclusion”) – a word, being the expression of a thought; a saying. 3056 /lógos (“word”) is preeminently used of Christ (Jn 1:1), expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit*.

The Word made flesh is the coming of the Christ as Jesus to express the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit. I take that to mean that Jesus came to demonstrate in person God’s love and plan for God’s creation. It is rather like watching a YouTube demonstration rather than simply reading the instructions that came with a new piece of equipment. And I pray that God gets a laugh out of that analogy rather than considering it blasphemy.

John, I think, was also saying that our history of God, from the beginning of time, has been filtered through the thoughts and circumstances of the people who wrote it. That makes it no less true or false; it just colors it in the shades of the writer. Admittedly, our history of Jesus and his actions come to us through the filters of others. Thus, we must not only study the whole wealth of information about Jesus that is available, but we must also seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in understanding what we read.

Prayer: God, open our hearts and mind to knowing you more nearly as we strive to serve you. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/3056.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.

The Holy Spirit

Christmastide

December 31, 2021

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14

In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory. –Ephesians 1:11-14

Never alone comes to my mind when I consider the Holy Spirit. The concept of a Holy One traveling with me through all the trials and joys of life is comforting. The Holy Spirit is not a puppet master who corrects any possible miss-steps in our lives. However, we do need to have the opportunity to learn from our mistakes. I think the Holy Spirit helps us realize when we are wrong and is with us when we know we need to repent and turn around from our misdeeds.  

However, we must recognize that for our relationship with the Holy Spirit to be fruitful; it must be two-way. We must be open to the Spirit’s guidance. Sometimes that means we will wrestle with the Spirit as Jacob, the trickster, wrestled with the angel until he became Israel he was capable of being. Or Saul, the religious zealot, became Paul, the apostle who introduced the gentiles to Jesus Christ. Our growth and development may not be as striking as these, but they are as necessary if we are to play our part in making the love of God the standard that rules our world.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Strengthen our relationships with the Spirit so we can serve you more nearly. 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.

Updating our Covenant

Christmastide

December 30, 2021

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:3-14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. –Ephesians 1:3-10

English is a complicated language with the same word sometimes having several usages. For example, the term “bless” is a verb the word “blessed” can be either an adjective or noun. When I read the above scripture, a weird question popped into my mind: who could bless God? So, I checked dictionaries and got way in over my head. However, I was pleased to read in Merriam-Webster, when used as an adjective, blessed could mean worthy of adoration. God certainly is. The first word of the scripture quoted above, translated as “Blessed,” is derived from the Greek word eulogētós, and this is its only use in Bible.

2128 /eulogētós (“blessed”) is only used of God the Father and Christ (God the Son), showing the Godhead is worthy of all our commitment. Indeed, only God is inherently praiseworthy, deserving every “good acknowledgment“!

We are a blessing to God when we fulfill our commitments to God to the very best of our ability. We attain that by first making a commitment to God. In our world, we might think of that as a contract. In such instances, one entity agrees to do this if the other does something in return. God, however, prefers to work in covenant with people.

Covenant: the promises of God as revealed in the Scriptures conditioned on certain terms on the part of humanity (as obedience, repentance, and faith): such as

a: an agreement regarded as having been made between God and Israel whereby Israel was to be faithful to God and God was to protect and bless his faithful people

b: a promise regarded as having been enacted by God and granting redemption and salvation to humanity through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ***

With Jesus Christ, we entered into a New Covenant, a promise of redemption by God to people as individuals rather than as a nation and on the basis of God’s grace rather than a person’s adherence to the law***.

As we prepare for a new year, let us take the time to make and review our commitments to God, map out our way to meet those commitments, and follow through with the plan while maintaining a close relationship with the Holy Spirit to guide and direct us through the whole process.

Prayer: Lord, here am I send me. Amen.

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

**https://biblehub.com/greek/2128.htm

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

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.

Blessings

Christmastide

December 27, 2021

Scripture Reading:

Numbers 6:22-27

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.

I was introduced to this beautiful blessing early in life. It tells us that we are always God’s children. To bless means to make sacred, and keep means to retain forever. The light of God shines on us so that we can see our way forward. For example, I had to get a new thermostat some months ago, and the one installed had a more prominent face. During the day, it is hardly noticeable, but at night it illuminates the whole room well enough for me to find my way when darkness is all around me. The face of God provides such light on all we do. God being gracious to us indicates God’s gift of grace filling in the blank space between where we are and where we should be related to kindness and courtesy.

As a child, I most likely did not understand the word countenance. It means one’s mood, emotions, or character. For God to project those traits on us is an interesting circumstance to consider. When God is pleased with us, we will welcome his countenance. I am reminded of the scene when Jesus drove the money lenders out of the temple, which was undoubtedly an expression of God’s countenance. That took courage on the part of Jesus. Would we have the tenacity to do such a thing? And how would we have felt had we been one of the money traders?

The blessing follows the countenance challenge with the promise of peace or shalom where we are granted completeness, soundness, wellbeing.

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for your blessings and dedication to our wellbeing. 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.

Perfect Love

Christmas

December 25, 2021

Scripture Reading: John 1:10-14

[Christ] was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

The Bible is our primary source of human observation of the history of God, including the coming of the Christ child. Yet John is trying to tell us there is much more to the story recorded in the Bible or anything written since that shares human experiences with God. John describes Christ as the Word we are to follow. The measure of God’s message is determined by whether it passes the test of love. We, indeed, must immerse ourselves in the stories of God, Jesus’s teachings and example, his death, and resurrection that has been passed to us over the years. But, even with those, we must seek love’s path. Such study requires us to call on God to guide us and help us understand the meaning of “love” as Christ lived it as what John describes as the Word.

Today we celebrate the coming of the Word into the world. Let this be a time to recommit our lives to expanding our understanding of the Word and molding our lives to follow the Word more closely.

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron
Water like a stone
Snow had fallen
Snow on snow on snow
In the bleak midwinter
Long, long ago
Angels and Arc Angels
May have traveled there
Cherubim and Seraphim
Thronged the air
But only his Mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshiped the beloved
With a kiss
What can I give him?
Poor as I am
If I were a shepherd
I would give a lamb
If I were a wise man
I would do my part
But what I can I give him
Give him my heart
Give him my heart*

Prayer: Thank you, God, for sending your Son the greatest gift we will ever receive. Amen.

*Hymn In the Bleak Midwinter  by Christina Rossetti and Gustav Holst

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.

Blessed

Advent

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12)

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. –Hebrews 1:1-4

On the evening sports, I watched Tiger Woods hugging his son after coming in second in some father/son golf tournament and saw the love from both as they walked off the green together. Earlier in the year, Tiger was nearly killed in a terrible car accident and faced the possibility of losing one of his legs. That event changed them both. Both recalculated what is most valuable in life.

As we look forward to celebrating the coming of God with Us in the form of the infant Jesus, let us envision the love God has for God’s Son and how much the Son loved God. God’s giving Jesus as the Christ is the greatest gift we will ever receive. Jesus willingly modeled the way of love in his life, death, and resurrection, is the greatest blessing of all.

Children have always been our future. Therefore, we must invest our better selves in providing them with the faith, hope, and love that will prepare them for whatever calamity they may meet and how to make the best of their skills and talents to create the world God envisioned for us at creation. I mentioned calamity first because we seem to be surrounded by it now with pandemics, violent storms and other challenges of climate change, violence on the streets, and poverty in all our communities. However, our commitment to using our skills and talents as partners in God’s Kingdom prepares us to deal well with calamity and blessings.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your saving grace and the gift of your Son as a model of how we are to 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.