Mary's Song of Hope

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked with favor 

on the lowly state of his servant..."

(from Luke 1:39-45)

When I sing songs of praise to God while in the shower, I hope God isn't listening., but looking with favor on his lowly servant.

God knows, we need some songs of hope.

Mary lived in a more honorable time that was much different from the stressed-out society we experience today.

Today we experience a Christmas market mentality, continuous traumatic news, sex-abuse scandals, divisiveness, and a sense of chaos.

So, yes, God knows we need some songs of hope.

One song of hope is God's promises affirmed in others which is happening when Mary makes the journey to Elizabeth.

A second song of hope is God’s constant mercy.

As Mary’s song moves from personal, she sings of what God has done in the lives of people around her from “generation to generation” and “forever”.

Whatever mercy God is doing now, God is capable of doing forever.

Mary’s song of constant mercy is one we need in our world marked by anxiety-producing change.

A third aspect of Mary’s song of praise is the radiating of vitality and hope through praising of God.

It radiated hope with Elizabeth, Zechariah, shepherds, and Simeon then from generation to generation.

As Christians our calling and mission is to continue singing Mary's song of hope with our "souls magnifying the Lord and our spirits rejoicing".

What, Then, Should We Do?

"Even now the ax

is lying at the root of the trees;

therefore every tree

that does not bear good fruit

will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

And the crowds asked him,

“What, then, should we do?”

(From Luke 3:7-18)

During fellowship time after worship, the conversation at my table turned to drones.

Folks began to drone on about drones.

"Why don't they just shoot them down?

    With apologies to Longfellow:

        "I shot the drone in the air,

        It fell to earth, I know not where."

"Why don't they just tell us what they are?

The FBI and DHS stated they believe most of the drone sightings are cases of “mistaken identity."

Most of the public are misidentifying small, legally operating manned aircraft, or commercial airliners, as drones which may actually be commercial drones.

The sightings create a sense of urgency, and anxiety. 

What should we do?

This is the same question people asked John the Baptist after he warned them of the coming wrath; the axe and the fire.

He declared, "bear fruits worthy of repentance!"

John the Baptist is talking about a repentance that is a concern for faithful action which marks a life realigned with God’s purpose.

Repentance in the Gospel of Luke is not just a feeling, instead it means concrete acts of change

It amounts to recalibrating the course of your life; reexamining your thinking, or plan, or system of values, and adjust it in accord with a new understanding or purpose of God. 

The call to repentance may truly be good news because it invites us to take practical steps toward aligning our lives more squarely with God’s purposes.

That's why John gives distinct instructions: to the crowd share clothing and food: to tax collectors,collect justly; to soldiers, be content without extortion 

Repentance takes abstract aspects of faith and makes them external and concrete. It gives opportunity for faith to have full expression.

Today, John’s message calls us to step away from our conventional patterns so our can sights be recalibrated on the One who draws near to us, not just at Christmastime, but every day.

Preparing the Way

As it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight.”

(from Luke 3:1-6)

 The last place I want to be during the Black Friday Season is the wilderness of Walmart.

The long paths to the check-out registers are definitely not straight as people usually wait patiently to purchase their presents.

The Season continues with Cyber Monday and intensifies until reaching “Last Minute Shopping”.

Our practice is to shop small business on-line, most of which we have visited at one time or another.

There’s a backstory to Black Friday. Around 1951, "Black Friday" came to be used by Philadelphia police to describe the crowds and traffic congestion when the Christmas shopping season began.

There’s also a backstory to John the Baptizer’s appearance at the Jordan River.

According to Malachi, a prophet filled with the Holy Spirit will appear filled with a message of repentance, salvation, and forgiveness.

The prophe twill grow becoming strong in spirit living in the wilderness until he began preaching at the Jordan River.

Tiberius the emperor was considered cruel, perverse, and self-indulgent which is in stark contrast to the kingdom of God Jesus proclaimed.

Preparing the Way of the Lord began with John the Baptizer’s message claiming that God saves even in corrupt, messy, and complicated historical events and situations.

Preparing the way is responding John’s call to a baptism of repentance which indicates living a life demonstrating God’s purpose of a restored people of God’s.

Preparing the Way is acting on John’s message today by redirecting people to God with the promise of salvation when we redirect our lives to an eternal source of life and acceptance.

A voice is us calling from the Black Friday frenzied hustle and bustle and money-oriented generosity, to redirect our lives to prepare for the coming of Christ the Lord.

The Days Are Coming! Definitely!

Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’

with power and great glory.

Now when these things begin to take place,

stand up and raise your heads,

because your redemption is drawing near.”

(from Luke 21:25-36)

In 1963 Bob Dylan wrote "The Times They Are a-Changin'" during a time when the civil rights movement was underway and demonstrations against the war in Vietnam were gearing up.

It would become the anthem of his generation.

Dylan wrote the ballad as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of hope during the changes of the times.

Now, more than 60 years later, it throbs with new meaning.

Today our world is flooded with uncertainty, injustice, conflict, indifference, pain, judgment, and condemnation of anyone who thinks differently.

A word of hope and redemption is greatly needed.

This is nothing new, that’s why the prophets wrote about a “Day of the Lord” when the Lord decisively intervenes to redeem God’s people.

On the “Day of the Lord” the Son of Man will arrive and complete God’s purposes.

Jesus talks about signs in the heavens, warnings from the sea, and the powers of heaven being shaken.

This is when redemption is near.

Jesus’ return changes everything.

A definite future hope inspires faith here and now as we realize our faith is not in vain,

When Jesus returns there will be salvation, justice, redemption, and healing.

The Ruler of All Earthly Kings

Grace to you and peace from

him who is and who was and who is to come

and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,

and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead,

and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

(from Rev. 1:4-8)

About 17 years ago I wrote a letter to the people in the United Church of Underhill. The purpose of the letter was to explain I was retiring at the end of the Conference Year.

I felt the time had come for me personally to move on and for the church to grow with a new pastor.

I secured a moving company while the church formed a search committee as we both prepared for the inevitable.

This is the nature of the book of Revelation, as recorded in 1:4: “John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia.”

This is Revelation’s context: it was written for the benefit of particular people at a particular time for their particular situation.

John’s letter narrates a drama about God’s imminent invasion of the “kingdom of this world” (Rev.11:15), to take its reins for God’s and Jesus Christ anointed one.

From beginning to end, John calls his audiences to live with this future invasion in view.

Christ the King Sunday in 2024 arrives just as we recover from another presidential election season.

Some woke up the morning after election day and greeted the results with great relief hoping their candidate will provide temporary salvation for the nation; others woke up sure that the nation was on the road to moral collapse.

Every Christian, however, already had, and continues to have, a king who loves and redeems us from the beginning to the end.

Revelation’s vision is a reminder of this hope in King Jesus.

The Lord's Prediction

“When you hear of wars and rumored wars, 

keep your head and don’t panic. 

This is routine history, and no sign of the end.”

(From Mark 13:1-8)

For five years I worked at a boy’s summer camp as an assistant riding instructor.

I had a great deal of respect for him because he not only taught me about riding and teaching but also drew me into a greater maturity.

I loved him for his teaching and mentoring at a significant time in my life.

In the Spring I learned he would not be returning to camp and there would be a new instructor.

That was a Summer of adjustment and grief.

Two summers later I was asked to be the camp riding instructor.

I knew that would be a great responsibility and wanted to do my best as his protégé.

Without him there, it wasn't easy to recall and practice his teaching.

I would imagine the disciples experienced similar feelings and questions.

Without Jesus there physically with them, what did it mean to follow him?

What, if anything, changed in being a disciple? 

Mark, the Gospel writer, uses the example of the Temple destroyed in the future and doomsday deceivers claiming to be the Messiah.

These doomsday deceivers will spread wild conspiracy theories and try to find the exact time of the destruction.

In this confusion, Mark reminds the disciples to keep their heads and not panic, it’s routine history.

What the disciples are to do is continue Jesus’ teachings stay awake and pray.

It seems to me that the challenge of our chaotic times calls us to keep our heads, not panic, and stay awake and pray.

Elijah's Miracle Meal

"She did as Elijah had told her.

So there was food daily for Elijah the woman and her family.

For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry,

in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah."

 (from 1 Kings 17:15-16)

Elijah is on a mission to announcing to everyone a coming drought unless God provides rain.

Elijah’s miracle lunch break begins when the Lord tells him to go camp at the Cherith canyon, where the ravens feed him twice daily.

Eventually the canyon's waters evaporate producing a drought.

Go to Zarephath, the Lord tells Elijah, where a woman will feed you.

He goes, meets a woman gathering sticks, and asks her for a bite to eat and a drink of water.

She reacts sarcastically saying, “I have a handful of flour and a little oil; you found me scratching together enough firewood for a last meal for my son and me!”

Elijah answers, “Don’t worry about it. First make me a small biscuit and bring it back. Then make a meal from what’s left for you and your son.”

Elijah declares, “This is the word of the Lord: ‘The jar of flour won’t run out and the bottle of oil won’t empty before God sends rain on the land ending this drought.’”

She did as Elijah asked and it turned out as Elijah said, the jar of meal didn’t run out and the bottle of oil didn’t become empty: God’s promise fulfilled to the letter, exactly as Elijah had delivered it!

The miracle here relies on our capacity for understanding the potential of the miraculous in the stresses of the past few months.

Then, when we recognize a revelation from God in the ordinary stuff of life, doing what we can to build God's Kingdom.

It may be through coffee and donuts rather than flour and oil, but we can trust in a revelation from God.

Two Coins in the Temple

 When the widow put her two in the offering plate, Jesus said:

“Truly this poor widow put more in the treasury. 

All of them have contributed out of their abundance,

 but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, 

all she had to live on.”

Adapted from Mark 12:38-44

Come Stewardship Sunday, one of the most common texts you will hear is Mark 12:41-44 focusing on the widow as a model of sacrificial giving.

It’s one I used often for the same reason; make a sacrificial offering for the ministries of the church.

Another way I used the text was to highlight the difference between God’s ways and our ways.

The scribes paraded around the marketplace in their robes while they “devour widow’s houses” while this poverty-stricken widow gives her last two coins to the temple.

The widow, therefore, is a model disciple because she gave all she had.

There’s a problem here; it doesn’t seem like Jesus to ask a destitute woman to give all she had to God.

Jesus, as a Rabbi, would certainly know the scriptures don’t demand the poor to give everything they have to God.

Jesus would also know the probable reason the woman was destitute was that her husband died leaving her nothing; no adult son for support, no brothers, sisters, mother, father, or fields.

More than that, if the leaders had kept the law and loved God, the widow would not have been poor.

When the destitute widow put her two last coins in the wealthy temple, which hardly needed her coins, the purpose of the temple was called into question.

Jesus’ teaching is asking, when does a temple of God lose its reason to exist?

There are many ways to answer that question in today’s society.

For me, a glaring one is misunderstanding or misusing scripture.

A Day the Lord Gave

This is the day that the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Ps.118:24

The beauty of the day is not that it is new, but that we are being made new.

The glory of the day is not that it marks a change, but that we are being changed.

The blessing of the day is not that it is a day off, but that it is the Lord’s Day.

R.C. Sproul Jr.

The day began with my first-ever distressing case of acid reflux.

A call to The Dr. resulted in a prescription for omeprazole (Prilosec) which the pharmacist dispensed along with 2 pages of “instructions, warnings, and in some cases” comments.

Returning home I immediately took a pill, without reading directions, and my body began a disagreeable adjustment to the medication.

A portion of the adjustment was not being able to write last Monday’s “Reflections”, which I enjoy.

It’s Friday, and the Structured Me said it’s time to reflect on the Day the Lord gave.

I have reason to rejoice because in reflecting on the unexpected I came to realize a new experience as a time to look for a Creating God.

And then looking I saw God’s Re-Creation of a new day in the Morning sun on the autumn leaves.

The pause in my thinking as giving time to recognize this on-going re-creation and to give thanks even as I was in a time of confusion and concern.

Thanks be to God for the Day the Lord gave!!!

The Brother's Foolish Request

James and John, the sons of Zebedee,

came forward to him and said to him,

“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?”

And they said to him,

“Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory."

(from Mark 10:35-45)

I have a passion for historic train rides.

That’s why I drove 6 hours to ride the Conway Scenic Railway to Crawford Notch.

That same passion led me to New Hampshire and the Mount Washington Cog Railway, the world's first mountain-climbing cog railway,

The epic ride, however, was the narrow-gauge rail through the San Juan Mountains along the Animas River from Durango to Silverton, Colorado which has run continuously since 1881 transporting silver and gold ore.

Along with the history came the breathtaking view of the river flowing along the canyon’s floor and the canyon’s walls which one could almost touch from the open-aired coach.

As the train ascended the canyon with the incredible landscape of its walls and river below, I was overwhelmed with God’s presence.

I knew I would arrive at Silverton, but wanted the experience to continue eternally.

This train ride was my baptism into the glory of God’s wilderness creation.

James and John had their baptism into servanthood with Jesus.

Experiencing the life-changing ministry of Jesus of healing the sick and forgiving sinners, they wanted to be leaders in this movement.

They ask to be appointed one on the right and one on the left when Jesus enters glory.

Jesus asks about their willingness and ability to serve the same type of people and undergo the same suffering he does.

They arrogantly reply, “Certainly we are able!”

OK, says Jesus, knowing James and John didn’t get the question, you will drink from the same cup and be baptized with the same baptism, but God does the seating arrangement.

Unlike James and John, we know what train we’re traveling.

It’s the train of our baptism covenant with Jesus to build God’s kingdom by resisting evil, injustice and oppression even when oppression seems as high as a canyon wall or injustice as deep as a canyon gorge.

And All Will Be Well.

“Let us therefore approach the

throne of grace with boldness,

so that we may receive mercy and

find grace to help in time of need.”

(from Heb. 4:12-16)

Empathizing with the suffering experienced by the people devastated by the hurricanes is beyond my capacity.

I see the damage, I watch evacuating traffic, I hear the stories of people coping with unimaginable situations.

What must it be like to dig through the rubble and mud to search for remnants of one’s life?

This morning in my devotional reading I came across a quote from Julian of Norwich: “But all will be well, and all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well”.

This often-quoted passage is from her book, Showings, where she deals with the concept of sin.

Why, she asks did God allow sin in the first place?

The question I ask is, “Why, God?”

Why have you allowed the suffering and devastation of so many people?

When I look at the world and into my own soul, it’s hard to believe “All will be well,” that we will receive grace to help in time of need.

Yet I believe we will receive grace to help in time of need, in God’s time and God’s way.

I believe that because I trust God that Jesus has already suffered “the sins of the world” and already overcome them though the Resurrection.

Jesus, the Son of God, is touched by the feelings and experiences of our pain, suffering, and sorrow and comforted us.

And so I have hope that beyond the brokenness of the world and our lives, in God’s time and in God’s way, “everything will be well” 

Embraced by Jesus

“Truly I tell you,

whoever does not receive the kingdom of God

as a little child will never enter it.”

And he took them up in his arms,

laid his hands on them, and blessed them.”

(from Mk 10:2-16)

Kids Say the Darndest Things a television program that ran 1959 to 1967 and hosted by Art Linkletter would begin by asking a child question about a life topic, such as “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

The child usually responded with their own innocent, timeless wit and wisdom often comical perspective of life through a child’s eyes.

Previously, Jesus heard the disciples arguing about who was the greatest, so he scolds the disciples, takes a child – a first century image of having little rights, seen as a nuisance, and merely tolerated – takes it in his arms and says, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

Here, Jesus does something else.

Children are approaching Jesus who welcomes them scolding the disciples who try keeping them away.

In the Kingdom of God, one welcomes others like welcoming children who are vulnerable and low in status.

In Jesus’ day of an honor and shame society, people eagerly welcomed those of high status by provide banquets increasing their own honor.

Children were of low status, so there was no benefit in providing a banquet for children.

When Jesus takes a child in his arms he is saying, again, God is experienced in weakness, not in power.

To enter God’s Kingdom is to faithfully serve the last and least in Jesus’ name.

Beginning with Genesis, the Bible stories tell us that God has embraced us and remained faithful.

That is the Good News.

The World Seen Differently

"The law of the LORD is perfect,

    reviving the soul;

decrees of the LORD are sure,

    making wise the simple;"

(From Psalm 19:7-14)

On our way to Brattleboro, VT, we were following directions I downloaded from Google Maps. 

We had been following Rt.9 when it seemed as though we had made a wrong turn when we came to an intersection where we had to turn right or left. 

I knew this was wrong, but realized our accommodations were on Main Street.

Following that prompting of the Spirit, we turned left and in faith we kept on eventually we arriving at our accommodations. 

Psalm 19 celebrates God’s ordering activity through the use of two different literary elements.

The heavens give witness

The psalms' initial claim is that the heavens provide a witness to God’s establishment of order (verses 1–6). 

Though the heavens cannot speak the words of humans, they tell a clear story nevertheless. The sky stays high above the world. The movement of the heavens can be seen as regular and orderly because the sun rises and sets and the constellations move about

 

The power of God’s law 

The God-ordained movement of the heavenly bodies resonates with the order that God gives the community through the law. 

This order emerges through the words of the 10 Commandments which arrange the life of God's People.

Seeing the world differently 

We can also see the ordering work of the law embodied in Jesus Christ.

Jesus brings the order of God to us in the most immediate way.

And in Jesus, God speaks a new word, the Word made flesh. Order comes to the world through Christ’s very life, death, and resurrection. And the Word made flesh issues commands that still go out through all the earth. 

Jesus' Fork in the Road

"Whoever welcomes one such child

 in my name welcomes me, 

and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me,

 but the one who sent me.” 

(from Mark 9.30-37)

Yogi Berra, the brilliant baseball player, reportedly said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

Robert Frost’s poem "The Road Not Taken", describes making a decision when coming to a fork in the road.

Frost’s poem discusses emotions that come with facing decisions, and how choices can often lead regrets or wondering what could have happened differently.

Frost implies making a wrong, regrettable choice, is unchangeable, so we must choose wisely.

In Capernaum, Jesus is teaching about his death and resurrection when an argument develops among the disciples about position, status, and greatness.

The disciples haven’t’ paid attention to what Jesus taught and they watched, his vision for the needy.

Instead, they’re arguing about power and status as a benefit for being a disciple of Jesus.

Jesus hears this tells them God’s new kingdom is different.

Jesus reteaches his kingdom lessons by taking a child – a first century image of property – sets it among them, takes it I his arms and says, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

Jesus’ road is treating the most marginalized with care and respect.

When we come to the fork in Jesus’ road, when we encounter the vulnerable, the ignored Jesus calls us to share his road of love.

Choose Your Cross

"He called the crowd with his disciples and said to them,

“If any wish to come after me,

let them deny themselves and

take up their cross and follow me."

(from Mk.8:27-38)

First-century Jewish leaders had expectations and hopes of a messiah who would judge the wicked and restore Israel’s righteousness.

None of these Jewish leaders expected a messiah crucified by elders, chief priests, and scribes or that the followers would be given a cross to carry to their own execution.

In 66 BC Cicero said “To bind a Roman citizen is a crime; to flog him, an abomination. To slay him is virtually an act of murder. To crucify him is—what? No fitting word can possibly describe a deed so horrible”

It’s no surprise that when Jesus clearly explains to the disciples that the Son of Man must choose the cross of suffering, Peter doesn’t want to hear it. (vs.33).

Choosing this cross is hard to follow.

In 1993 the New Yorker reported on Macy’s cross boutique where you could buy the latest trending fist-sized crosses.

A sales associate may indicate one with a centered cameo surrounded by purple, green, blue, and pink semi-precious stones … extra-long antiqued-silver chain for wearing, bandolier style, with little biker boots.

Choosing these crosses is straightforward and painless.

The scriptures are clear:

          Choose the cross of Christ.

                   Or

          Choose the cross of “this adulterous and sinful generation,” (Rm. 1:16-17)

Arland D. Williams, Jr., chose the cross of Christ.

He was a passenger aboard Air Florida Flight 90 on January 13, 1982.

After take-off it crashed into Washington’s 14th Street Bridge, then into the icy Potomac River.

Fighting a lifelong fear of water, clinging to twisted wreckage, he handed over to the five other survivors one life-vest after another.

When all but Williams had been pulled ashore, the helicopter returned to the site to save him. He was gone.

We may never face such a dramatic situation, but we know in the situations we face, Jesus leads us.

 

God's Blessed Assurance

"Say to those who are of a fearful heart,

“Be strong, do not fear!

Here is your God.

He will come with vengeance,

with terrible recompense.

He will come and save you.”

(From Isaiah 35.4-7)

"Blessed Assurance", by Fannie J Crosby, is one of my favorite hymns.

Fanny, visiting her friend Phoebe, who was having a pipe organ installed, played a newly composed melody on the piano.

Phoebe asked Fanny, "What do you think the tune says?", Fanny replied, "Blessed assurance; Jesus is mine."

Because of Fanny’s words, the tune is now called "Blessed Assurance".

Aren’t there times when we all need a “blessed assurance?”

That was certainly true for the exiles returning to a promised, yet unfinished Jerusalem.

To picture a restored Jerusalem, the Lord sent Isaiah who wrote an oracle of salvation, “words of assurance”, to the exiles needing a vision of hope.

The vision is a transformed land from a desert to a fertile Way of Holiness leading to seeing the glory of the Lord.

Along this Way, the Lord removes all obstacles: the blind shall see, the deaf shall hear, the mute shall sing, and the lame shall leap.

This Way of Holiness will have streams, pools, and springs for the thirsty.

These visions of hope, these “blessed assurances”, allow people to accept God’s invitation to return home.

Isaiah’s oracle of salvation, “words of assurance”, says we’ll be safe traveling the Way of Holy living.

When things seem bleak or overwhelming, following the Way of Holiness through streams of living water leads us to joyfully singing in the Lord’s glory.

God's Unshakable Promise

O Lord, who may abide in your tent?

Who may dwell on your holy hill?

Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,

and speak the truth from their heart;

Those who do these things shall never be moved.

(Psalm 15)

Traditionally in the Methodist Church, Conformation Class’ purpose is renewing one’s baptism covenant.

That makes the Apostles’ Creed the best curriculum for Confirmation Class.

I would begin the class asking a question such as, “Do You Believe in God?”

 The youth respond saying, “I believe in God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.” as our discussion for that day.

At the conclusion of the classes, the youth would stand before the congregation, say the vows and confirm their baptism a I responded, “Remember your baptism and be thankful.”

Psalm 15, is an affirmation of faith concerning walking in God’s way.

When the question is asked,

O Lord, who may abide in your tent?

  Who may dwell on your holy hill?

The answer begins in the next verse, “Those who walk blamelessly” which refers to a way of life.

“Walking blamelessly” is essentially talking about all of one’s behaviors and actions: all the areas of how one lives.

“Blamelessly” is about doing the right thing; living with integrity in all areas of human life, including civil, criminal, political, religious, moral, ritual, and familial issues.

People walking blamelessly know words matter, so they don’t use slander or say falsehoods, which disgrace others.

People walking blamelessly don’t exploit others to their own advantage by making a profit from other’s poverty.

Who may abide? Who may dwell?

Those who do these things.

“Being moved” in the Old Testament refers to security and protection by God as one “walks blamelessly”

The affirmation of Psalm 15 says that whatever it costs to “walk blamelessly”, God's unshakable promise is to uphold and protects you.

Wearing God's Armor

"Finally, be strong in the Lord 

and in the strength of his power. 

Put on the whole armor of God, 

so that you may be able to stand against

 the wiles of the devil." 

(from Ephesians 6:10-20)

In 1944 the inexperienced U.S. Third Army was about to invade France.

To inspire the troops, Gen. George S. Patton gave several motivational speeches urging them to do their duty in spite of personal fear.

Their coming combat required powerful and constant offensive action.

The speeches recalled their heritage and promised honor resulting from their bravery, assuring them that valor, not numbers, will prevail against the mighty army they were battling.

In 63, the small church of Christians in Ephesus endured oppression by Emperor Nero and Jewish leaders

The apostle Paul, in chains, relying on God’s army for prayers and depending on the Lord’s strength composes a motivational letter to the Ephesians urging them to proclaim the gospel no matter what opposition they may face.

The Scriptures clearly state that the final battle has already been won by God.

Paul is telling the Ephesians, that even though God has won the final battle, the forces of evil haven’t just given up.

Therefore, Paul says, “Put on the whole armor of God” as you continue to battle against “the wiles of the devil.”

Using scriptural images from Isaiah, Paul says put on the belt (11:5), breastplate (59:17), footwear (52:7), helmet (59:17), and sword (49:2) underscoring several spiritual points.   

First, Christians are constantly on the defensive against the assaults of evil.

Second, evil forces attempt overthrowing the people of God by systemic powers such as racism.

Third, the needed resources for resistance are given to the church by God, Jesus, and the Spirit.

Finally, Persistence in prayer is a hallmark of trusting in God’s care and relying on the directives of the Spirit.

The forces of evil may seem to overwhelm us, but the whole armor of assures u

Putting on the whole armor of God, is a reminder we have been saved by grace.

Living Wisely

Be careful then how you live,

not as unwise people but as wise,

making the most of the time,

because the days are evil.

(from Ephesians 5:15-20)

A wise person once said to me, "On Sunday, you will find me in church someplace."

I also practice this discipline because I believe that emerging from Sunday worship is a strengthening of one’s spirit through the “Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” we sing to the Lord.

So, as I enter a church, I am eager for the strengthening of my spirit through the music as we sing to the Lord and encourage each other.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians encourages them (and us) to live a life filled with the Spirit giving thanks at “all times and for everything” in Christ’s name.

This is the beginning of wise living emerging from individual Christians and Christian communities.

My understanding of evil days is the tension created by violence, hatred, and discrimination resulting in a lack of hope for people experiencing these hostilities.

Wise living in the present age is applying our worship time lifting up the name of Jesus and celebrating all that God has done in Christ.

Wise living goes way beyond the door of the church.

Wise living, I believe, is using Jesus’ God-given, Spirit-empowered teachings in our life’s journey so that our Christian living reflects our actions in Jesus’ name.

Since I am confident in God’s faithfulness, I am looking forward to next Sunday’s worship, no matter what the format, simplicity or formality, I will be Spirit-powered to live my Christian discipleship in Jesus’ name.

Elijah's Broom Tree Break

Suddenly an angel touched Elijah and saying,

“Get up and eat.”

He looked, and there at his head was

a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water.

He ate and drank, and lay down again.

(from 1 Kings 19:4-8)

Since retiring from a preaching schedule and special needs school bus driving, I spend more time reading historical novels, biographies, and memoirs.

One memoir I appreciated was “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” which is story of war through the eyes of a child soldier.

The author tells how, at twelve years old, he fled attacking rebels in Sierra Leone, wandered a land made unrecognizable by violence, and by age thirteen, been picked up by the government army, and trained as a soldier.

By age 18, he moved to the United States finishing high school at the United Nations International School in New York.

In 2004 he graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in political science.

Elijah’s memoirs would include competition with the prophets of Ba‘al on Mount Carmel followed by queen Jezebel’s death threat and his fleeing into the desert.

Fleeing into the desert, he comes to a broom tree and prays to God, “I’ve had enough, take my life because I’m no better than my ancestors,” and falls asleep.

God’s Messenger wakes him up showing him warm bread and water.

He eats the meal and falls asleep again.

God’s Messenger wakes him a second time, giving him bread and water strengthening him for a journey of forty days and nights that lies ahead.

What is striking here is the action of God’s Messenger recognizing Elijah’s exhaustion and offering him rest and recovery.

As Elijah struggles with a personal situation, God’s Messenger consistently offers him care which empowers him to continue on his journey.

Elijah’s story is also our story: God consistently cares for us.

As we undergo personal ordeals, God’s Messenger consistently cares and empowers us to continue on our journey toward healing and wholeness.

The Angels' Abundant Bread

Yet he commanded the skies above, and opened the doors of heaven

he rained down on them manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven.

Mortals ate of the bread of angels; he sent them food in abundance.

(from Psalm 78:23-29)

The Sunny Side Diner in Bennington, VT. is about halfway between home and bow, NH, the first stop on our journey to Maine.

We arrive there just about noon, while breakfast is still being swerved allowing us to have their generous sized blueberry pancakes and real maple syrup.

It's also possible to order a 3-egg omelet served with toast and freshly made strawberry-rhubarb jam.

It's the relaxed, friendly spirit of the diner that makes it a refreshing stop on our journey.

We mortals, having driven three hours, enjoy God's gifts of wheat real maple syrup freshly made strawberry-rhubarb jam available in abundance.

Psalm 78 recalls the Israelite’s journey out of Egyptian slavery towards the promised land.

The Psalm reminds the people of their complaining to Moses about the lack of water and God’s response of abundant water flowing from a rock.

The story of the manna, God’s heavenly food, is another reminder that the wandering Israelites thought Moses led them in the wilderness to starve.

Psalm 78 reminds the people that God commanded the skies, opened the doors of heaven and rained down manna to eat, and gave them the grain of heaven.

Mortals ate of the bread of angels; he sent them food in abundance.

Psalm 78 presents the past as a lesson for the present generation stressing God’s grace and faithfulness.

As I look at the events of the present and reflect on events of the past, Psalm 78 is a reminder that God’s grace and faithfulness is present.

The Bible says the same story as we live our life’s journey with its anxieties and tensions.

God is faithfully, abundantly, providing healing, strengthening grace for the journey.

 

Mama Cats' Bread

Then Jesus took the 5 loaves, and when he had given thanks,

he distributed them to those who were seated;

so also the fish, as much as they wanted.

When they were satisfied, he told his disciples,

“Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.”

(from John 6:1-21)

Rev. Dr. Tracy Blackmon tells the story of her “most holy” of Holy Communions.

Dr. Blackmon tells of being fed by Cathy “Mama Cat” Daniels.

Mama Cat had been serving Sunday meals to demonstrators outside the Ferguson Police Department’s headquarters nearly every week since Michael Brown was shot by Officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014.

In Mama Cat’s words, “These [sic] our mothers, and fathers, and brothers, and sisters, and nieces and nephews.

It’s our people, so when we say black lives matter, we need to know that we need to include every last one.

I can’t sleep at night knowing people is laying out in the cold. I spent the night out here two days before Christmas because you got to understand what they going through. You know? That’s what motivates me to keep on going,” she said.

Feeding these people is a characteristic of God’s presence and grace.

God, by grace, abundantly fed the Israelites manna in the wilderness wandering.

God, by grace, abundantly fed a large crowd from 20 loaves of barley bread through a miracle performed by Elijah.

Jesus, by God’s grace, abundantly fed 5,000 from a boy’s five barley loaves and two fish.

These three stories remind us that Jesus brings abundant life in the middle of dire human circumstances.

The stories are also about Jesus’ power to save.

As God freed the Israelites from slavery to freedom, so Jesus frees us.

As Elijah stood against abusive authority, so Jesus speaks with power and authority.

Our Christian faith tells us that our relationship with Jesus’ life-giving power opens to us that same salvation.

Entering Deserted Places

The apostles gathered around Jesus,

and told him all that they had done and taught.

He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place

all by yourselves and rest a while.”

(From Mark 6:30-34)

Sometimes I just feel like I need a Creemee (Google it) to take me back to the beginning of my pastoral ministry in Vermont.

I feel a need to get grounded as I reflect on the road of my pastoral ministry and where I am still traveling.

Like the disciples, I have worked and taught faithfully in each parish and the Lord’s work in retirement.

I’m experiencing the world in a precarious, ever-changing situation politically, nationally and globally with continuous brutality and new challenges.

Jesus call to the disciples to “come away to a deserted place” seem like just the place to go.

Deserted places are critical places, places to get re-grounded.

Significantly, the Gospel of Mark begins in a deserted place: a wilderness of forty days.

Jesus is baptized in the Jordan, the heavens are opened, the Spirit descends on him and a voice says “You are my Son, the Beloved.”

This is the beginning of Jesus ministry to the broken, oppressed, marginalized people and where Jesus calls disciples to follow.

Here in Mark 6 Jesus in reminds the disciples of who will be there and what is necessary to remember as they build the Kingdom of God.

Come with me to a deserted place, says Jesus, and get grounded on your work.

I could drive 3hr. 30 min. and 202 miles to the nearest Creemee stand to get grounded again.

Grounding, it seems to me, has more to do with reflecting the Gospel’s beginning and Jesus standing with me as I continue building God’s Kingdom.

The Lord Will Speak Peace

Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,

for he will speak peace to his people,

to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.

(from Psalm 83)

Friday, July 12, was a day in which I felt a sense of deep peace gently surrounding me. 

One place was sitting on a bench alongside a quiet pond surrounded by trees a view of nearby mountains with billowing clouds above.

Another was the peaceful singing of Psalms by a small group accompanied by acoustic guitars.

Psalm 85:8–13, portrays the abundant life that God wills for all people in all times and in all places.

Later, into this pastoral scene of deep inner peace burst the exterior scene of violence at a political rally leaving physical and spiritual wounds.

In Psalm 83, the Lord speaks peace to his people by summoning and challenging his people “to look for and pray for” the abundant life that God wills and to work toward that abundant life for all.

The basic challenge is to shape a world where everyone is fed, clothed, and cured. 

That challenge has been around a long time Amos, for example says;

 “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:21-24)

From Matthew comes ‘

 ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

There is food enough to feed everyone, yet 10 percent of the world’s population is daily plagued by hunger. 

The first United Nations Millennium Development Goals is to end poverty and hunger, and Psalm 85:8–13, Amos, and Matthew summons us to do precisely that.

Jesus Confronting the Unimaginable

"Jesus took her by the hand and said to her,

'Talitha cum,' which means, 'Little girl, get up!'

And immediately the girl got up

and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age).

At this they were overcome with amazement."

(From Mark 5:21-43)

There’s a song in the musical “Hamilton” called “It’s Quiet Uptown” sung after Alexander and Eliza Hamilton’s firstborn son Philip is killed in a duel.

It begins like this:

There are moments that the words don’t reach
There is suffering too terrible to name

You hold your child as tight as you can
And push away the unimaginable.

 Unimaginable.

That had to be the parent’s feelings sitting by their son’s hospital bed.

He had attempted suicide, it failed, and now he was on life support, his parents facing the hardest, most heartrending decision possible.

I stayed with them, sometimes silently, sometimes in prayer, sometimes offering what felt like inadequate answers to difficult questions.

What do you say to parents with feelings of grief, loss and guilt?

The mother sat there finally saying “My son is dead. Unimaginable.”

There’s a story in Mark about Jairus’s 12-year-old daughter who just died.

Mourners are there expressing the intense grief they all feel.

Everyone hoped for a miracle, that Jesus might show up healing their daughter, but it is too late.

Along with grief, loss and guilt, comes disappointment because she is close the age of marriage.

If only Jesus had been there, she might not have died.

Everyone’s there, Jesus shows up saying, “Talitha, cum,” which means “Little girl, get up.”

Miracles recorded in the Gospels were signs of God’s hope for people facing unimaginable suffering.

The Gospel’s miracle stories plant seeds of hope for people wondering if they are condemned.

But most importantly, the miracle stories tell of hope in Jesus’ power to overcome the unimaginable with the indisputable healing in God’s kingdom.

A Sunday Pilgrimage Song

"As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,

until he has mercy upon us."

(from Psalm 123)

My way of "observing the Sabbath to keep it holy" (Ex.20.8) is by attending church somewhere on Sunday. 

When I am away, I usually locate a nearby United Methodist Church, or occasionally a Baptist, Presbyterian, or Episcopal church to experience the Spirit moving differently within them.

I make this Sunday Pilgrimage out of two needs, the first is by looking to God helps me focus on heaven where God is crowned as creator and ruler over all the earth.

Just as the servant and maid look hopefully to the master for providing, so I look hopefully to God for providing a sign of divine mercy as God completes God’s purposes for the world.

The second need comes from seeing a world filled with contempt by people in authority looking down on those around them.

The arrogant looking at the servants and maids in contempt and only look out for themselves and lack mercy and grace.

Psalm 123 is a Song of Ascents.
A Song of Ascents was used by the ancient Israelites going on a pilgrimage to the temple to worship.

The Songs of Ascents songs they sang as they traveled expressed their faith at a deeper level trusting God’s mercy.

I am at Sunday Worship, I am gathering with other faithful Christians that understand their pilgrimage in life is a gift from God and trust in God’s mercy.

Jesus' Boat Ride from Hades

A great windstorm arose,

and the waves beat into the boat,

so that the boat was already being swamped.

(from Mark 4:35-41)

I clearly remember the time I was in a canoe with a Scout on Chesuncook Lake in the Maine wilderness. It’s about 22 mi. long, 5 mi. wide and 150 ft. deep

The lake was relatively calm when the wind seriously picked up, blowing the canoe sideways, sending water into the canoe.

Fear of being swamped is an understatement the Scout and I felt 

The Sea of Galilee, much smaller, narrower, and shallower, has a geographic location causing storms developing quickly, without warning, immediately threatening small boats.

The disciples, the Scout and I experienced the panic of drowning.

Jesus continued preaching the impending Kingdom of God and the necessary repentance and acceptance of the good news.

This is not just a boat ride to the other side, but an apocalyptic boat ride from hades in which we learn Jesus’ identity.

The storm has come up, Jesus confronts the storm by rebuking it, saying to the sea, “Peace! Be still!

The wind ceases and the sea becomes a dead calm.

“Rebuke” and “silence” are exorcism words Jesus said earlier in Mark.

There are storms and then there are storms.

I’m currently reading The Demon of Unrest describing the cultural storm of issues surrounding slavery leading to the Civil War.

My niece is in the middle of a personal traumatic storm as she cares for my sister with Alzheimer’s illness.

Both of these storms have their own chaotic, wacky world.

Jesus, the Son of God, who exorcises the sea, brings calm in traumatic storms.

Jesus calls us to turn from our fears and trust confidently, in the good news that Jesus is in the boat capable of bringing calm to traumatic time.

God's Wild Mustard

He also said,

“With what can we compare the kingdom of God

or what parable will we use for it?

It is like a mustard seed, which,

 when sown upon the ground,

 is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;

(from Mark 4:26-34)

Growing up learned two different meanings of the Mustard Seed parable.

In the first meaning the mustard seed, the smallest of seeds, is sown yet becomes the greatest shrub, so birds can make nests in its shade.

One meaning had to do with one’s faith.

Like the mustard seed, God will grow your faith if you cultivate it.

Another meaning had to do with encouragement.

Like the small mustard seed, a small beginning in faith may become something very large.

Like the mustard seed, be inspired by using your faith in small ways because God can use it to do great things with it.

These meanings are very helpful because they help with life’s lessons.

It’s a parable though which is meant to overturn, criticize, frustrate, and transform the listeners.

Jesus asks, what parable can we compare the kingdom of God?

So, I searched for more depth by considering the wild mustard plant.

It helps to compare wild mustard to crab grass or dandelions which are incredibly hard to control and once they take root.

Jesus is saying the God’s Kingdom is coming to overturn, to take over, and to transform the world’s kingdoms.

Jesus offers God’s vision of infiltrating the world’s kingdom by transforming hatred into love and encouraging the listeners to move to action by loving your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus suggests God’s kingdom will overturn intolerance through open-mindedness by actions of the disciples.

This is a parable of hope meant to encourage us as we work to build God’s Kingdom looking forward to the day it is complete.

Hope in the coming of God’s kingdom to transform the world.

Problems in the Garden

 Grace and Peace,

There seems to be a problem between God, Facebook, and ptd.net.

FB notified me that the post on  Garden of Eden didn't meet community standards and if  that continued my account would be cancelled.

ptd.net labeled the post as having spam content in the message and wouldn't deliver it.

I will have another post on Monday that I hope isn't spam and meets FB community standards.

PR

God's Walk in the Garden

The Lord God said,

“Who told you that you were naked?

Have you eaten from the tree

of which I commanded you not to eat?”

(from Genesis 3:8-15)

Imagine it’s the end of the day and God has decided to walk in the garden to enjoy the evening breeze.

God looking for a deeper relationship and holy conversation, realizes Adam and Eve are hiding, so God asks, “Where are you?”

God knows their emotional and spiritual condition since they are afraid and hide shamefully knowing they are naked.

God, acting like a prosecuting attorney, asks, “Who told you that you were naked?”

Then the Blame game begins.

Adam, avoiding responsibility for eating the fruit of the tree, responds by indirectly blaming God for giving him woman.

God asks the woman for her testimony, “Who told you?”

She blames the serpent for deceiving her into eating the fruit; a really bad choice because it results in being banished from the Garden of Eden.

God concludes the questioning and acts as the judge.

The verdict for the snake is to crawl on its belly and for the woman to be its constant adversary.

This verdict is an ongoing struggle.

Between Adam, Eve, and the serpent, only the serpent is cursed.

God has pronounced the verdict with the caution, “be careful who you listen to.” in your imperfect attempts at learning to become the responsible, caring adults you are created us to be.

The Garden of Eden story reminds us that God is always walking and ready to talk  with us as we work to overcome polarization, extreme hatred, and fear of others.

Life-giving Sabbath Rest

"Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy."

Exodus 20:8

"Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy,

as the Lord your God commanded you."

Deuteronomy 5:12

One clergy group I belonged to would spend a week-long retreat at Weston Priory.

We divided our time between worship with the brothers, study, and fellowship.

During our gathering, before the retreat started, our conversation was usually about the need for time away from routine parish life such a visitation, Bible study preparation, and preaching.

The retreat was a sabbath time.

Genesis describes sabbath time after God created the earth in six days.

God rested on the seventh day, blessing it and setting it apart for humans to imitate God, by honor that day.

The Bible describes two ways to honor God’s sabbath blessing.

First, in Exodus 20:8: “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy”.

Second, in Deuteronomy 5:12: “Observe the Sabbath day, and keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.”

There’s a significant difference between remembering the Sabbath and observing the Sabbath.

Remembering the Sabbath as God gave it to Moses, meant remembering the people were once slaves in Egypt, but are now free.

Remembering the Sabbath in today's society is remembering it is God who set you free from the stresses of contemporary living to time from holy rest.

Obeying the sabbath, as Deuteronomy indicates, is refraining from work in order to be ready to do the Lord's work the next day.

Obeying the Sabbath’s intention, means resting to work recharged for looking around and asking, "Who do I see needing sabbath rest?"

 Isn’t a Christians work to keep the Sabbath by asking "who needs a life-giving, holy rest because society has given up on them, or their worth, or their dignity has been stolen from them?

Who needs Sabbath rest in order be recharged to continue to “fight the good fight”?

The Foggy Mountaintop Incident

Then a cloud overshadowed them,

and from the cloud there came a voice,

“This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!”

(From Mark 9:2-9)

My mountaintop experience began when a good friend of mine, John, asked if I’d hike with him on an overnight to the Lake of the Clouds hut on the Appalachian Trail.

Sure.

We drove up the Mt. Washington Toll Road, it’s own exciting adventure!

An extremely dense cloud at the summit made the trail to the hut a challenge.

We began the 1.5-mile hike over a clouded, rocky trail arriving at the hut in about 45 minutes.

After spending the night among other hikers, we returned to the fogged in summit.

I’m not sure how we would have reacted if a voice came out of the wind and clouds, but I can guarantee you, we wouldn’t have pitched a tent!

 It is no accident that this story takes place on a mountain.

 This story takes place on a mountain top because ancient civilizations understood mountains as heaven and earth’s meeting place.

The Bible, understands mountains as places for epiphanies, like the stories Moses’ burning bush.

Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to the mountaintop where his clothes turn dazzlingly white.

In this epiphany, Moses and Elijah are talking with Jesus.

Peter, James, and John hear a voice talking to them: “This is my Son the Beloved. Listen to him.”

The epiphany’s significance is to reinforce the work of the disciples in the face of suffering and pain, or healings gone awry.

As Martha Simmons wrote, “where the sweet by and by meets the nasty here and now.”

For me this vision is a salvation story pointing to hope beyond today’s reality of hatred, pain and brokenness to a healed tomorrow.

Think about it: Peter, James and John saw Jesus on the mountain top. Where do you see Jesus?

Jesus' Paraclete Promise

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth:

it is to your advantage that I go away,

for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you;

but if I go, I will send him to you.

(from John 16:4b-15)

Our family had experienced a financial crisis.

We had to move into our summer cottage, have it winterized, and begin a new school.

My Dad knew I was anxious about entering high school, from my new elementary school.

So, Dad said to me that when I get off the school bus, and before I enter the building, stop, take a deep breath and say to myself, "you can do this."

Weird as it felt, I did as Pop said.

It was a good day.

The words, their source, the deep breath, brought comfort to my anxious heart.

Jesus, was aware of the tensions created by his ministry realized the disciples would be facing a crisis after his death.

To care for his disciples, Jesus promised he would pray to God to send the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, that would comfort them in their anxiety. (John 14:16).

Jesus’ Paraclete promise is to accompany them just as Jesus has been accompanying them.

In a sense, the Paraclete would be God’s EMT of comfort in their times of acute need.

It works like this.

Frequently I come home from worship on Sunday with a sense of spiritual frustration due to my hearing and mobility disabilities.

I can usually get a few words from the sermon and almost none from the prayer requests.

The acoustics in the Fellowship Hall eliminate much conversation.

Last Sunday the teenager living around the corner stopped his bike and we chatted a few minutes.

He’s been through a lot in his 17 years, homelessness, mom’s medical crisis, and caring for his 8-year-old brothers.

Yet there is a positive sense of like that radiates from him in his smile and greeting.

That brief encounter comforted the spiritual frustration of that morning.

You've Got Eternal Life!

"I write these things to you who believe

in the name of the Son of God,

so that you may know that you have eternal life."

(From 1 John 5:9-13)

Elaine's mother had a household rule: never call between 7:00 and 7:30!

Jeopardy! is on!

I wonder if her mother got to the pearly gates, asked St. Peter which room Jeopardy! was on at 7:00.

There's a big difference between heaven's’ pearly gates and eternal life 

The Bible describes heaven as mainly God's dwelling place.

As Cleland Boyd McAfee describes in his hymn, “There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God.”

It’s where Elijah was taken in a whirlwind and the Spirit in Revelation 14:13 says, “they will rest from their labor.”

In heaven, God is surrounded by angels in a community of peace, love, and worship.

Eternal life is something very different.

In John 3:16 and in 1 John 5:13, eternal life isn’t referring only to life beyond the grave.

Eternal life is full life, now and in the world to come.

Both the Gospel of John and 1 John understand eternal life to be a present reality as well as future promise for those who believe in Jesus Christ. 

“Life” in this sense has to do with a quality of existence that death cannot destroy.

That is, it is “eternal,” not in the sense of lasting forever, but in its quality, in its appearance here and now.

Recognize God’s life-giving Spirit among us reveals the eternal life we already have.

It’s like Elaine’s mother sitting before the TV watching Jeopardy! excited at one winner, but disappointed at another.

God’s life-giving Spirit among us is God’s gift of eternal life.

Come, Sing A New Song

O sing to the Lord a new song, 

for he has done marvelous things. 

His right hand and his holy arm

 have gotten him victory.

(from Psalm 98)

When The Faith We Sing, a new songbook, was published I discovered there were several types of new songs.

Some of the new songs, such as "Down to the River to Pray", had been around for a long time, but singing it was a new experience to me.

Other songs, such as "Where Children Belong" were new because they were recently composed, so I had to learn them.

The oldest “new” song to me is the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32:1-42 because I hadn't realized it was a song.

Psalm 98 is an extremely important psalm anchoring the collection of “the LORD is king” enthronement psalms so it’s considered “the theological ‘heart’” of the Psalms.

The possible origin of Psalm 98 was a response to the exile crisis with the “marvelous things” referring to God leading the people out of Babylon in what amounts to a new exodus.

The message being, just as God’s presence was in the Exodus, so God’s presence is may be seen in the return from the Babylonian exile, so a new exodus that invites the singing of “a new song”.

The victory, it seems to me, is that God is present among us doing what God does: working toward salvation through justice.

This means I can sing a new song of hope in the crisis of our fractured world because God is present doing what God does.

I can also sing a new song of hope and healing for people living through a personal crisis because God is present doing what God does.

I discovered retirement is its own personal crisis because of a lifestyle change, but learned to sing a new song of retirement because God was present doing what God does: offering new life.

Core Spiritual Strength

"But whenever you pray, 

go into your room and shut the door

 and pray to your Father who is in secret; 

and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

(Matthew 6:6)

As my fall risk increased, my doctor prescribed physical therapy.

My first appointment concluded with the therapist saying, “We’ll start by building up your core muscles which are the basis for stability."

So, I wondered what core spiritual practices are the basis for strengthening my faith?

Four core spiritual practices are clear: Bible reading and study, prayer, worship., and acts of justice.

Centering prayer is a core practice which is not an obvious way to deepen your relationship with God. 

Centering Prayer, based on Matthew 6:6, says “But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Centering prayer works like this:

First, “enter your room”, meaning finding a quiet place. 

Choose a sacred word or image to refocus when your thoughts wander.

Second, “shut the door,” by sitting comfortably and silently with your eyes closed. 

Let go of all thoughts, worries, memories, and plans. 

When thoughts, feelings, images, and memories arise, use the sacred word or image to recenter. 

Third, at the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes. 

Finally, offer a prayer to God who is in secret and speaks to you beyond words.

This prayer of being quiet takes effort, yet the silence offers a renewed spiritual strength, an inner peace, a deeper connection with God.

It’s like being with God in an oasis of quiet while surrounded by a world of noise.

Restoring Your Soul

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

   He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters;

   he restores my soul."

(from  Psalm 23)

Lectio Divina, is a method involving reading, meditating, and praying Scripture verses aiming to help people connect more deeply with God. 

 

There are four basic steps: 

1.    Reading the Scripture passage several times slowly listening for God's small voice.

2.   Thinking about how it applies to your life.

3.   Praying and opening your heart to God

4.   Being still and listening for what God is saying to you.

As I read Psalm 23, two words stand out for me; water and soul.

Places where I have been quiet and listening for what God may be saying are the shore and waterfalls.

At the rocky shore of Acadia, N.P., God speaks through the rhythm of the waves rolling against the rocks in sets of three.

God says, the rhythm will remain the same no matter if the seas are calm or stormy; your is consistently restored even in my times of life’s inconsistencies.

I live near several beautiful waterfalls, some large and flowing, some small and merely a trickle.

When I walk to Dingmans Falls, my favorite, sometimes, after rainstorms, the water is gushing majestically.

Sometimes, after a long spell without rain, there is still be a splendid flow down the height of the waterfall.

God restores my soul through the roar of thundering waters pouring down after rainstorms by saying, “it’s ok to express your anger in my presence.”

God restores my soul through a quiet flow saying, “I’m still here, listen to what I have to say.”

I invite you to take some Lectio Divina time listening for what God is saying to you through reviving your soul. 

Peace Be With You

While they were talking about this, 

Jesus himself stood among them 

and said to them, 

“Peace be with you.”

(from Luke 24:36b-48)

Each Sunday my pastor tells us to turn to a person near us and say, “Peace be with you,” a greeting we all say.

Some disciples were discussing the facts about the risen Lord and how they saw a connection between Moses, the prophets, and the Scriptures.

Their conversation included Jesus’ ministry, focus on table ministry, and their experience of the resurrected Jesus. 

When Jesus walked with the disciples and said,” peace be with you,” it was more than a customary welcome.

Jesus standing with them continues sharing the message salvation to disciples gathered after his death.

This greeting connects a wish for common well-being, and is also related to the Hebrew notion of shalom, indicating social relations and justice.

“Peace be with you” is also a reminder Christians are commissioned to forgive sins which can sometimes mean salvation.

So, when Jesus greets someone with “Peace be with you,” it has the possibly of a greater meaning than merely a customary welcome.

For me, the hope in this exchange with Jesus and the disciples is that as Christians greet each other by passing the Peace of Christ, we can gather around the table of salvation, break the bread and share the cup knowing Jesus is alive in the world even with all the brokenness.