Who Am I God?

"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?"

(from Psalm 8)

"Who am I, God, compared to all this beauty that you have made?”

That was the question Shauna Hannan asked while driving through the Canadian Rockies … alone … in a blizzard … in a white car … with no cell phone reception. 

"Who am I compared to all of this majesty and wonder?" 

She knew she could get swallowed up by the strength and power of the blizzard surrounding her. 

This was a cry of desperation as well as awe. 

What are human beings that you are aware of them?

The feeling of insignificance may happen much simpler circumstances.

Behind the last church I served is an open field providing a vast view of the night sky.

Often as I walked from the parsonage to the church for an evening meeting, I would look up and see this night sky filled with stars and occasionally the Northern Lights.

It was an incredible display of the vastness and power of God.

Who am I, God, that in the great scheme of the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, that you would call me to pastor this church you created?

I am, we all are, surrounded by God's love, grace, and majestic creation, questions and all.

The psalm says each of us has a role in God's plan:

    "Yet you have made us a little lower than God, and crowned us with glory and honor.

    You have given us dominion over the works of your hands."

Ultimately, though our purpose is praise of God:

"O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

Think about it: In what areas of life do you feel called to exercise a kind of dominion that honors God’s dominion?

The Celtics And A Variety of Gifts

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.

(from 1 Cor. 12:3b-13)

I am a Celtics fan.

That's probably the result of having three parishes in Vermont.

One of my prayers is attending a Celtics game in Boston with a picture taken alongside a starting player. 

I'm not well informed about plays and rules, but I've learned some players are more gifted in one position than another.

I also realize the coach takes advantage of those gifts and utilizes a player in a position as needed.

With a variety of gifts, some players are rotated off the court while others are rotated on.

When playing together as a team and utilized well by the coach, the game goes well.

When they don't, it doesn't 

Gifts of the Spirit are like this. 

In the Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul faced an issue about gifts of the Spirit. 

Apparently, the house churches had plenty of people imagining the gift brought was more to the life of their church.

This resulted in debates about whose gift was best. 

Paul addresses this debate explaining the Spirit that unifies the church.

Because the Spirit activates each persons' gifts, Paul says, no gift is better gift than another's. 

It's the Spirit, Paul says, that determines each gifts value.

The importance is recognizing the gift and knowing how to use it.

Since all gifts are given by the Spirit, and there are many different gifts, unique, personal gifts matter. 

For example, if you have the gift of wisdom, recognize it in you and learn how to use it.

What the Corinthian church needed to do, Paul says, is concentrate on how to use each gift to build and unite the Body of Christ.

It seems to me that, in the times in which we live, discovering and using our gifts to build up the Body of Christ, is of utmost importance!!!

Think about it: What spiritual gifts have you encountered? Does this list in 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 include them all?

Spiritual Rocks

"You are indeed my rock and my fortress;

for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,

take me out of the net that is hidden for me,

for you are my refuge."

(from Psalm 31)

Pennsylvania's rocks are known as "Pennsylvania Potatoes"

For me, the meaning of "Pennsylvania Potatoes" is nuisance.

Last Spring, I decided to plant some flowers.

I began digging and the very first thing I hit below the soil was a "Pennsylvania Potato", a huge one. 

It took more digging, prying, lifting, and finally moving the rock. 

For my neighbor, the meaning of rocks was wall building.

He and his three teenage kids decided to use rocks near the properties edge. It grew to a height of 3 layers and 40 feet long.

For Joshua, the meaning of rocks was memorial. 

In Joshua 4, after Israel crosses the Jordan river into Canaan.

Joshua instructs the Israelites to choose twelve stones from the Jordan river and erect them as a memorial.

He instructs the Israelites: “When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean?’” you will have a story to tell about crossing the Jordan.

In 1 Peter 2. He refers to Jesus as a living stone and urges the disciples to be built like living stones into a spiritual house, a royal priesthood.

The meaning of cairns, stacks of rocks, in ancient times, served as navigational aids to let one know they are on the right path.

For Elaine and me, the meaning of Bubble Rock in Acadia NP, was a place of beauty and peace.

Having climbed the Bubble Rock trail, and absorbed the view of Bubble Pond below and the vast sea in the distance, gave us a sense of God's awesomeness.

It seems to me that we are always encountering rocks in various sizes and meanings, from suffering and struggle, to memorial memories, to experiencing the awesome presence of God.

But finally, aren't we standing on the Rock of Christ, the Cornerstone of our Faith, as we make our way along life's path?

Being In Love Jesus' Way

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 

And I will ask the Father, 

and he will give you another Advocate, 

to be with you forever.

(From John 14:15-21)

The novel, Lila, by Madelyn Robinson is a memorable, distinct, love story.

Lila is abandoned as a toddler, rescued by Doll, a young drifter, and raised in a poverty-stricken childhood with Doll's strong sisterly love.

Homeless as an adult, Lila's shelter from a rainstorm, is a church.

Lila and the minister marry, begin a new life, trying to avoid previous lives based on loneliness and abandonment.

The result is a weak marriage based on shared loneliness to provide comfort and life in a tenuous peace.

Being in love, according to Jesus, works far differently.

First, Jesus does not abandon his disciples leaving them orphans on the doorstep of a commandment.

Instead, begins by Jesus clearly defining the boundaries of that love: 

   “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you".

Being in love, according to Jesus, begins with being chosen by God to be in the world God loves which is probably why the word "Love" appearing 57 times in John's gospel.

So, at the end of each day, ask yourself: “In what ways did I or didn't I love according to Jesus?” 

The hard part of being in love according to Jesus, is doing it. 

Second, Jesus promises more than homelessness and seeking shelter in a storm try loving like Jesus.

The Holy Spirit,Jesus says, will nurture the disciples as they mature from learners to tutors.

Since God promise is Spirit being with disciples forever, everything the disciples were taught and experienced is equally available to us.

Finally, love according to Jesus is more than shared loneliness providing comfort and a life of tenuous peace.

Being in love according to Jesus, with the Spirit's presence, gives us new a purpose for living: to go and bear fruit in Jesus' name.

Think about it: Have you ever been lost or abandoned? If so, how did you feel and what did you do?

Jesus’ Prayer for Disciples

"And now I am no longer in the world,

but they are in the world,

and I am coming to you.

Holy Father, protect them in your name

that you have given me,

so that they may be one, as we are one."

( from John 17:1-11)

My prayer life began with this simple bedtime prayer:

    Now I lay me down to sleep,
    I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
    Angels watch me through the night,
    And wake me with the morning light.

    Amen.

My journey continued as I learned the Lord's Prayer and finally the Church taught me the Collect for Purity.

My basic conviction about prayer is this:

God hears prayers: God answers prayers: in God's way: in God's time.

For example, my daily prayer for our church, based on Psalm 126:4 is, "Restore her fortunes, O Lord, like the waters of the Negeb".

I know God hears that prayer and answers it.

I don't know God's way. 

What will restored fortunes be? More members? New members? None of these? Something I can't contemplate or see?

I don't know God's time.

Since God is eternal, are the fortunes restored? Being restored? Restored in an unseen future?

It seems to me that, finally, seeing an answer may not be God's way.

Unanswered prayers, therefore, may simply be recognized answers.

Rather, I feel faithfulness in prayer is God's way. 

I think this is especially true as I look at the world around me and see a its' brokenness and suffering. 

Jesus' prayer for disciples encourages me because I am confident God is answering it.

Just as God's answer to Jesus' prayer is a maturing in my prayer life, so it can be for others.

And so, I pray daily, in Jesus' name, that God continues to help my prayers and the prayers of others mature to include all situations of pain and brokenness.

Think about it: What is your greatest challenge in nurturing your prayer life as a follower of Jesus today??