Tag Archives: Working Together

A Time to be Intentional

Lent

March 13, 2023

Scripture Reading:

1 Samuel 16:1-13

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.’ And the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you, and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.’ Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?’ He said, ‘Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. –Samuel 16:1-5

When I read the above scripture, Matthew 10:16 popped into my mind: ‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Reading and understanding the people with whom we work is key to progress regarding whatever our goal may be. I  once had a supervisor who never wanted to be blamed for any mistake. Sometimes, things go wrong, and in most instances, there is a conflation of reasons for the mistakes. My co-workers and I had observed our supervisor’s behavior and shared experiences of being called into her office where nothing got done until we took responsibility for the problem, whether we had much to do with the negative outcome or not. Once she became relieved of any fault, she could be very helpful in devising a plan to correct the fallout. So, most of her staff developed the habit of starting conversations with her regarding addressing a problem by immediately saying something like, “I don’t know how I let this happen.” Doing that markedly shortened the time spent trying to address the situation.

There is indeed a time, as Ecclesiastes 3:6-8 says,

    to search and a time to give up
    to keep and a time to throw away,
    to tear and a time to mend,
    to be silent and a time to speak,
    to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

Being wise about how we approach people and situations may make all the difference in the world regarding positive outcomes.

Prayer: Lord, enable us to be wise as well as loving and peaceful. 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.

Grace and Peace

Advent

December 16, 2022

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:1-7

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

My mother would have described my activities over the past few weeks as being like a chicken with its head cut off. Quiet a grizzly sight I can assure you but true. When a chicken, or turkey for that matter, is beheaded, the body runs in circles until it collapses. This is one of those bits of information that you probably did not want to know and is generally only learned by those of us who have had some relationship with a farm.

I seem to be caught in the framework of taking one step forward and two backward in various aspects of my life. These good and important activities must be coordinated among people with varying understandings of the situations being addressed trying to discern the best way to a successful conclusion. Studying the Myers-Briggs personality types was very helpful to me in trying to communicate well with people who did not perceive the world in the same way that I did.  The same is true of the VAK learning mode which divides people into three categories of learners: Visual learners – who absorb information by sight, Auditory learners – who absorb information by sound, and Kinesthetic learners – who absorb information by moving. I am very auditory and thus do not think to use pictures to illustrate something I am sharing. A handout or picture might be worth a thousand words I might say to get a point across.

I now have time to take a bit of an extended Sabbath. Paul’s statement at the close of the above scriptures was a wonderful opening to my rest and recuperation. I do not identify as a saint, but I feel set apart as one trying to serve God as were most of the people with whom I have been dealing. Thus, I appreciate all the grace and peace God can provide for me and all of God’s other saints trying to work together to implement God’s vision for all people.

Prayer: Thank you Lord for the diversity of your saints who strive to 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.

Oneness through Christ

Eastertide

May 28, 2022

Scripture Reading:

John 17:20-26

‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’

Jesus prayed it forward for all of us as he called on us to be one together spreading his love throughout the world. Are we failing him completely? Hate is strong throughout our land, often governed by greed. Faith leaders are more interested in sex, policing everyone but themselves, than they are in feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, or educating children in a safe environment. Is evil so strong we cannot break its bonds? We are the ones being broken by divide and conquer techniques that not only separate us from one another but also from God. I have never thought of Benjamin Franklin being a strongly religious man, but he may have picked up some wisdom from the above-quoted scripture. At least some form of it may have arisen from deep in his mind when he said, We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.

Prayer: Lord, help us all find some common sense for our Common Good as we wrestle with the evils that confront our world. 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.

Gifts Differing

Jesus’ Ministry
January 18, 2019

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. –1 Corinthians 12:4-11

God created us with a diversity of talents so that all that is needed in a Kingdom ruled by love would be provided.  People with differing gifts usually perceive the world through the lenses of those gifts. While that is a good thing, communication problem can arise when our individual views do not mesh, or our priorities are not shared. A good example of that is the story of Mary and Martha*. Mary chose to sit at Jesus feet and soak up everything he said; Martha was hustling about fixing a meal and complaining that Mary was not doing her fair share of the work. Jesus essentially said to let Mary be Mary and Martha be Martha that Mary had chosen the better way. That stings those of us who are blessed with Martha’s traits. I also have a good dose of Mary though. My mother soon learned when I was a child that taking me to work in the garden was more work than it was worth, while my sister was a born gardener. I was soon left in the house to cook and clean which I did quickly, so I could read.

We grow spiritually when we learn for the experiences of others who are not like us. It is worth the effort to try to see the world through other eyes. It certainly would help us understand them better.  Who knows we might be surprised to find a talent that we did not know we had.

Prayer: Thank you Lord, for the beautiful variety of people you provided in this world. Help us learn to love and respect each of them as we share in the responsibility of developing your kingdom on the earth. Amen.

*See Luke 10:38-42

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.

Doing Good Works

Advent
December 7, 2018

Scripture Reading: Philippians 1:3-11

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. —Philippians 1:3-6

Is Paul suggesting that if all Christ’s followers begin a good work and bring it to completion, God’s kingdom will become a reality? So what good work(s) have you got going? Have you completed and started on new good works? Have you started some and decided the timing was not right, so you set them aside for a time and worked on other good works? Has the time arrived to revisit those held back to dust them off and try again?

Doing good works takes patience, cooperation, and good timing. The Thunder (that is the Oklahoma City pro basketball team) were getting their socks beaten off in a game last night; got behind 23 points. The other team could not seem to miss a shot and the Thunder, let’s just say, were not at their defensive best. They kept playing; kept trying to win, until with the help of every member on the team working together started playing like a well-oiled machine with great assists being delivered in a timely manner to the players making shots and they won by two points in the last eight seconds of the game.

Paul is addressing the plural you in the above scripture—the whole Body of Christ called to patiently work together within the context of God’s good timing. We are to do good work as individuals and as communities of faith toward transforming our world into one ruled by love as we complete one good work at a time.

Prayer: God grant us the humility to work together as we strive for the sum of our parts to be far greater than what we can accomplish alone. 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.

The Gift of Patience

Ordinary Time
February 6, 2018

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 2:1-12

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit.’ He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’ As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha kept watching and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. –2 Kings 2:9-12

My Aunt Nancy was a skilled crafter. She rarely was without knitting needles or a crochet hook when we would sit and visit. The story goes that when her son was about five, he told her he wanted to learn how to knit. She carefully demonstrated the simplest stitches for him. He struggled with great intensity to create a short little row then stopped looked at this mother and said, “No, I want to go clickity, clack as you do.” I had never noticed that she did knit so fast that her needles created a percussive song. I do not think he ever attained the clickity, clack stage but he did learn to knit.

We need to be patient with ourselves as we strive for perfection in our ability to serve God. Elisha in our scripture today experienced being on his own without Elijah to guide him. We all face many events as we mature and grow where it is our turn to take responsibility for whatever it is we are called to do. Two things are important for us to remember. God is always with us, always and we are indeed surrounded by a cloud of witnesses*  who very much want us to succeed. I do not think we ever want to stop learning which means we will continue to falter at times taking two steps forward and one step back. We also need to be patient with others who have perhaps traveled a different path than we have. While they may use differing methods, their results may be great.

Prayer: Lord, grant us patience as we learn to live together in love with one another. Amen.

*See Hebrews 12:1

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.

Revelation

Living in the Spirit
November 23, 2017

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:15-23

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. –Ephesians 1:15-19

Revelation

  1. a (1): an act of revealing or communicating divine truth  (2):  God’s disclosure or manifestation of himself or of his will to humans
  2. a: an act of revealing or opening to view:  the disclosing or discovering to others of what was before unknown to them*

What has God revealed to us? How open are we to revelation? Have we had an Aha! Experience lately? Ever? Communion with God is two ways. We must take the time to understand God’s responses.

I must confess I am stubborn. I usually wait until I am at my wit’s end before I seek the insight I need to deal with a complex issue. The most complex issues usually involve people. God created an interdependent world and expected us to develop it in such a way that we maximize the contributions of each of its citizens. A large variety of people with a diversity of skills are necessary to attain that purpose. Getting a large variety of people with a diversity of skills to work together productively is rather like herding cats. I have developed a great appreciation for really good coaches. They possess a keen sense of not only each individual on their team but how they can meld them together to win games. They are open to the revealing of each person’s talents, ways of communication,  etc.

Investing our energies in getting angry at another because they do not do things the way we do them never helps. Using that same energy to seek revelations about others with whom we work to identify ways to work with them can result in the more productive use of our time.

Prayer: Lord, open our hearts to revelations that will enhance our ability to work as one with all your children. Amen.

* http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/revelation

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.

Yoked

Living in the Spirit
July 9, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ –Matthew 11:25-30

Matthew 11:30 makes my top ten list of scriptures. I am just as guilty as anyone of making things harder,  processing stuff too much, not understanding, if I start with God’s way, my labor will be more fruitful and ultimately my journey joy-filled. We still have a job to do; there will still be hazards on the road, and we still have the challenge of learning to work as one when we are each as unique as snowflakes.

God created us with what Paul calls gifts differing for a reason. I do not do money, have two left feet, and am 5”2” tall. So, I greatly appreciate the gifts of accountants and bookkeepers, enjoy watching ballet dancers and athletes, and am particularly grateful for people who can reach the top shelves in grocery stores.

I probably drive accountants and bookkeepers crazy because not having enough funds to do something in my mind is just a roadblock to be overcome in some way. God created discourse for such events. I learn from them; they learn from me, and ultimately we answer God’s call to build a kingdom ruled by love.

The vision of oxen yoked together is beautiful. While the walk side-by-side one leads, the other follows. Christ is our leader and promises us when we pull with him our work is easy. When we pull against Christ, our labors are fruitless. When we pull against each other, we lessen our productivity.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we pull away from you, stubbornly planting our feet unwilling to move forward, or trailing off in a wrong direction. Forgive us when we invest more time in fight each other than finding areas of agreement to tackle. Guide us in your 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.

Bearing with One Another

Anchor-Christmas-Pageant-2010-049-CopyAdvent
December 24, 2015

Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:12-17

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. –Colossians 3:12-14

I have been “bearing” with myself for the past three or four weeks. I prefer the words “putting up with” myself. The Greek word used in this scripture anechó means to endure, bear with, have patience with, suffer*. There is some kind of virus, one of the common cold type, going around that last for four to six weeks off and on and I got it. The holiday season is not a good time to have any kind of a cold much less one that just drags on. I had my family party last weekend. With that major event concluded, I now must deal primarily with myself and I am not good company.

Recognizing that fact, made me realize how important Paul’s advice in his letter to the Colossians is. We really do not know what any other person may be dealing with at any point in time. Paul is saying when we are working together as the Body of Christ we need to cut each other a little slack and we surely do not need to project our own problems onto others.

Our children’s Christmas program at the church this year was about as flawless as any children’s Christmas program could be and was very well done. My table of friends watching this could not help recalling the fight of the lambs that occurred several years ago where two preschoolers had a rather strenuous disagreement on where they each were to stand as they played their roles as the lambs by the manger. We had a good laugh about it, recognized what great teens they had become and wondering where they are now as adults. What we consider as disasters at the time rarely are and they may become fodder for legends to come.

Prayer: Lord, grant us the gift of forbearance with each other and even with ourselves as we work together toward your purposes. Amen.

*http://biblehub.com/greek/430.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.

How Do We Judge Others?

Come and SeeEpiphany
Celebration of God
Manifested in the World
January 17, 2015

 Scripture Reading: John 1:43-51

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’  — John 1:43-46

 How do we judge others? Does it matter to us from where they come? Do we size them up by the clothing they wear, the car they drive, the friends they keep? Is it important how much money they make, property they own, or influence they may have? Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

When I was in high school and college I worked summers at a local chain restaurant. All the waitresses had been instructed to be sure and ask all customers if they wanted a piece of our freshly baked pies. One day I was assigned to work the counter. A man in his late sixties probably, dressed in khakis and a plaid shirt sat down at the counter and said, “I just want a cup of coffee.” As I poured the coffee I asked, “Don’t you want a piece of pie to go with that.” “He said what do you have?” I rattled off a list of all the pies baked that day and he order a piece of pecan pie. He drank his coffee, left me a nice tip, and left the pecan pie untouched. I found out later that he owned the chain and routinely liked to drop in unannounced to check on the service.

One of the greatest challenges God has placed before God’s people is recognizing the worth of every one of God’s children. Not only recognizing but working to assure that each person’s contribution to the Kingdom of God is actualized fully.  This lesson is taught by the example, of Jesus, a son of questionable birth, born to a carpenter, raised in a small unimportant village. He is the Christ, our Savior, Son of God.

Prayer: Lord teach me to respect all your children. Guide me as I work with others with whom I am in synch and with those who see the world differently than I do. Like good music unite us as one, in harmony and in dissonance, as we work together for the realization of your Kingdom here on earth.

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.