Monday, April 2, 2007
1Peter 2:5
Come as living stones
and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple where you will serve
as holy priests, to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through
Jesus Christ. Bible: Good
News for Modern Man© American Bible Society, NY 1966
Christians are called to be the living stones of
a spiritual temple to God. It was interesting to read this passage at a time
when our church is considering what renovations we should make to our
building—our “temple”—to make it more suitable for our mission. The passage
causes us to think about what purpose a temple serves, be it a literal physical
structure (“temple”) or a body of believers (the “spiritual temple”) or an
individual (a single “building stone”).
This passage begins, at verse 1, with the
familiar statement that Jesus (“the Lord”) was the cornerstone of the temple
although he was the building stone that was rejected by men. So, this chapter
starts with the idea that the followers of Christ, like Christ himself, may not
be understood and may be despised by the society in which they live. There may
be something about the way they live or the message that they bring that will
challenge the status quo or that will not be in step with the prevailing
culture. But the Christian strives to be acceptable to God, not to society.
Maybe we are called sometimes not to fit in, but to be set apart, to be a
beacon. Jesus and his followers at least made enough noise to get noticed, even
if notice took the form of rejection by many. Our message—by word and
deed—should be as radical as was the original Good News.
The
Jews of Jesus’ day believed that in some sense God’s presence resided in the
temple, in the innermost sanctum. Our church and our lives should be a place
where the spirit of God dwells. Like Jesus, each of us and the body of us
should live as well as preach the message of God’s love for all, of God’s
saving grace, of God’s redemptive and restorative power, of God’s yearning to
reconcile humankind with divinity and each of us with the other, of God’s
special concern for the poor and oppressed, of compassion that knows no ethnic
or cultural borders (as illustrated by the mercy of the Good Samaritan and
Jesus’ comfort for the Cyro-Phoenician woman).
The quoted passage also suggests that we
Christians should be like the holy priests of the
Dear God,
let us be the living stones of your temple. Amen.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Romans 15:7
Therefore,
accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
When I was about 12, Donald Grey Barnhouse visited my family's church on a revival crusade.
He was apparently quite a celebrity, having written many books and was a
dynamic preacher with a popular radio show. I guess this is so because he
packed the house. We had to open the rolling doors to the Sunday School room to
handle the overflow crowd during those days. Then, at his exhortation I
answered my first altar call. I remember little else except a rather
grandfatherly presence and two autographed volumes of his exposition on Paul's
Letter to the Romans as well as his autograph in my Bible. In fact Dr. Barnhouse who died in 1960 may still be heard on recorded
broadcasts of his radio show and on the internet. I listened to him again
today, many years (and many backslidings) after my call to Christ, and I can
understand my having been impressed by his messages from scripture. My copies
of Volume I and II take us no further than Romans chapter 2 but already he's
filled two volumes with God's Wrath and God's Remedy. Altogether Dr. Barnhouse wrote 4 volumes in his exposition on the Roman
letter. Romans is such a seminal message to us all, Barnhouse
points out in his prologue, that it was the basis of the conversion experiences
of both Luther and Wesley. Well, Paul seems to cover everything in his letter
to the Romans and he doesn’t stop with one statement. When he makes one point,
he does it again by stating it from a different angle and then moves to make
another. We are convicted from every angle that we are all sinners and unfit
for Glory, and as emphatically left to know that God has preserved us from this
judgment through Jesus and our faith in that redemption.
What are we to do with these astounding
declarations? Do we continue to live in
sin knowing we are saved merely by our faith in Christ? Some have suggested
that this has given Christians an excuse to act and treat each other badly. We
know that James stated strongly that faith without works is dead. He says:
“Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”
(2:18). Paul was, as is letter states, writing to those Jews in Rome and
elsewhere who would not accept the Gentile converts and to those Gentiles who
may have felt excluded. But beginning with the classic “Love Chapter” 12 Paul,
like James, writes of how the faithful should act and above all how they should
treat and accept each other. These three chapters come to a conclusion in
chapter 15 and verse 7 is the summary of these rules of conduct.
“Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the
glory of God.”
We are called to Unity. We are called to
love one another. Here is a verse that in its context restates Christ’s
affirmation of the Law in Luke 10:27, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and,
'Love your neighbor as yourself.” The
evidence of our love of our neighbor is in our acceptance or welcoming of
others as we have been accepted by Christ. In Jesus own words: “Do this and you
shall live.” (Lk.10:28).
Some say “what if this is all there is?”
Paul says live accepting one another and you will know in this life and beyond
“all there is”. I don’t know what Dr. Barnhouse would
have said about this but now I’m curious to find out.
Wednesday,
April 4, 2007
Psalm 16:1-5
Keep me safe, O God,
I’ve run for dear life to you. I say to God, “Be my Lord!” Without you, nothing
makes sense. And these God-chosen lives all around – what splendid friends they
make! Don’t just go shopping for a god. Gods are not for sale. I swear I’ll
never treat god-names like brand-names. My choice is you, god, first and only.
And now I find I’m your choice! You set me up witb
a house and yard. And then you made me your heir!
A
PRAYER OF CONFIDENCE
It is interesting to me
to note that while this psalm is indeed about trust and confidence in the Lord,
it begins with a cry for help…a plea if you will…that God will protect and watch
over the psalmist’s life. Often there comes a time in our spiritual journey
where we cry out to God in our longing to live in a more personal way. Secretly
wracked with deep apprehension, our grief-laden hearts cry out…Do you really
love me, God?
Oh, how we long for life
to be better than it is. We want to trust that God is looking after us, but so
often we feel that not only is God unconcerned with our plight but also may
actually be working against us. The woundings and cripplings that our soul and body receive make us question
whether we really are alone in the universe. How are we to understand God’s
presence in the midst of devastating losses that break our hearts? Do you
really love me God, our souls cry out, as we try to figure out our
importance to God.
The psalmist’s words
reflect joy because God walks the path of life with us. We long for this
intimacy because we are created in the image of perfect intimacy. God is
abundant love, love that never ceases, love that spills out into creation so that
we may flow back. Notice the psalmist’s peace does not come through acting a
certain way or saying certain words; God’s love doesn’t depend on us at all.
The fact that God seeks our heart seems almost too good to be true; but God
loved us before the beginning of time, came for us, and calls us into a journey
that culminates into divine love.
Most of us don’t give
much thought to the path of life that we are on. We just plow ahead, head down,
shoulders stooped, determined to make it around another bend. But sometimes in
the quiet of the night, when the frantic pace of our lives ebb, we hear the
still quiet voice of God calling us to something more. As if to answer our
hearts nagging question, do you really love me God? We hear a distant
whisper, it rises from the far corners of our heart…and oh so faintly we
recognize a barely audible voice saying, “Follow me.” And we do.
How about you? Will you
answer God’s call to a deeper communion and change your path of life? “Follow
me,” the voice says, and come and rest in my divine love.
Thursday,
April 5, 2007
MAUNDY THURSDAY
1 Corinthians 1:10
I appeal
to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church.
Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose
.
Although
this passage from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth addresses quarrels
within that setting 2000 years ago, this message is certainly applicable today
in light of some serious disagreements across the United Methodist Church!
So
why is dissension such a negative factor in the life of the church? Because, it
frequently saps energy from the body, often involves a win-lose attitude,
easily distracts the community from its God-given mission, and negatively
impacts the church’s witness to the outside world.
This
concern regarding dissension does not imply that differing viewpoints should
not be aired. In fact, for the body to grow, it should encourage open
discussions in a spirit of seeking an expanded understanding of the issues at
hand, with a desire to fully discern God’s leading, and with a focus on what is
best for the common good. The challenge is to deal with differences
constructively, to resolve them as fully as possible, to avoid negative and
judgmental thinking, and whenever possible to pursue a win-win approach.
Perhaps the most important lesson is not to avoid differing opinions, but for
the body and its members to learn to process disagreements so that they don’t
become divisive.
When
the church is united in its purpose and its direction, it can more effectively
address its God-given mission and it can more easily recognize the potential of
what the community and its mission can become.
As
a case in point, the Western Pennsylvania Dialogue Team began to meet in June
2000 to discuss issues surrounding the welcoming of homosexuals in the United
Methodist churches of this annual conference. During the first year, there was
a great deal of hostility expressed during our meetings. After about 18 months,
the Holy Spirit led us to think about what we had in common. As we discussed
that topic, the life of the group was transformed, many misconceptions were
dispelled, and we discovered that we actually shared common ground! We began to dialogue openly, to seek God’s leading together,
and to pursue what was good for the larger body. Although we still hold
significantly different views on many matters, we have recognized that our
primary goal is not to debate the deeply-held theological perspectives of other
team members, but to dialogue and to learn to work together. As a by-product of
this process, our attitudes toward other members of the group and their
extended constituencies have been changed in wonderfully positive ways! Some
previously-held perspectives have even been altered. Although we have miles to
go, the successes of this team may be evidence of what can happen when
divergent groups prayerfully and openly address divisive issues together!
With
the Holy Spirit’s leading and with similar prayerful approaches, perhaps our
denomination can also overcome the divisive issues that it faces!
LORD, help
us to learn how to deal with our differing perspectives in fashions which will
strengthen the body and not divide it. May your Spirit guide us as we struggle
with our most difficult issues in a way that will be responsive to Your
leading! In Christ’s Name, Amen
Friday, April 6, 2007
GOOD FRIDAY
Proverbs 3:3
Never let
loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write
them deep within your heart.
A part of our faith journey includes both
loyalty and kindness. But so does our everyday life. How do people discover my
‘loyalties and kindness’. People see me everywhere I go. What might they
conclude by observing me. I might be wearing my Penn State hat or FUMC
sweatshirt or Dean’s Diner tee shirt. In my car they might discover a window
sticker from an organization, a license plate holder, radio stations on the
preset buttons, CDs that are in the changer, and who knows what else that is on
the back seat or in the trunk? They will be able to draw conclusions about me.
But, not everything they observed was intended to tell a story … but it allows
them to learn something about me anyway.
The advice to “Never let loyalty and kindness
leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder.” is valid but needs the
Christian addition of “Go and tell others.” Only when I do this will people
discover some basis that created the exposed items. Having loyalty and kindness
takes intention and work but the hardest part is telling others about it. And
for me, as it turns out, taking the first step has always been the issue and I
find it quite easy to allow it to be a blockade.
In reflecting on this I discover that most of my
‘telling others’ involves people that are either in the church or related to
it. This is OK but a very, very short trip down the ‘tell others’ road. As I
write this, I have decided that a “first step” that overcomes my blockade
attitude is to, in fact, develop a way to talk to a visitor in our congregation
each week and create a follow-up scheme that allows my first step to become a
journey with them. Maybe in next year’s devotional I will have stories to tell
that aren’t about my individual journey but, rather, about the shared journey
that was created after I took the first step.
Lord, help
us to make loyalty and kindness become an internal part of ourselves so that we
react naturally to the needs of others and do not have to decide each time
“What should I do?” Please give us the initiative to act on what we know should
be done and put our kindness and loyalty into action with our Christian beliefs
being as exposed as our actions.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Romans 15:2
We should help others do
what is right and build them up in the Lord.
One of the things that I often overlook is that
I am observed by others and, depending on the circumstances, may well be looked
at as a model. When I try to help someone else change their approach to things,
they might say “Why don’t you do it like …” or “Please, don’t be like …” and
when they consult with others, they may well be talking about me.
I can remember my children talking about Mr.
Rodgers. He was very engaging and they thought they actually “knew” him simply
by listening to him and seeing him. They felt good about him and were sure that
he liked them. As they grew older and understood television, they came to
realize that while what Mr. Rodgers did was important to them, that it was not
really just for them: he was demonstrating a way of living that showed love and
caring and that doing the things the Mr. Rodgers did was what was important …
being like him rather than being liked by him.
Paul was concerned about people who were
discovering Jesus and how they should support each other: about what marks
would characterize them. He told them to “help others do what is right and
build them up in their faith.” Like Mr. Rodgers’ approach, this is a timeless
duty that we have as Christians. Our actions and faith should cause us to do
what is right and to do it giving open, credit to God. The last part – giving
credit to God– is often overlooked. It is assumed that everybody in ‘my group’
knows this. But that may no be true. I need to reinforce with others the
reasons why I do things and verbally use the name of Jesus and God as I speak
to help confirm my true faith.
Lord, give
us the courage to let it be known why we try to do what is right. Help our
faith basis be shown to others by our own acclamations. Do not leave the
understanding of our attempt at “goodness” to written off to chance. Help us
let others know it is because of the teachings of Jesus that are available to
all. Amen
Sunday,
April 8, 2007
EASTER SUNDAY
1 Corinthians 12:6
God works in different ways,
but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
Riley
Armstrong is a Canadian singer who has penned the following lyrics for a song
titled Different is Beautiful.
The Apostle Paul assures us that God blesses me
with gifts, and God blesses you with gifts, and that variety of gifts is God’s
intention as the way Body is to reach out in growth, and service, ministry and
outreach, nurture and witness. Different IS beautiful! Variety is God’s
blessing! One Spirit…calls us all together into the Unity of God’s abundant
grace.
Holy God,
draw us together in the common belief that you have created us with many gifts,
in great diversity, in order to proclaim the One who came into the world,
suffered and died, so that we could have Life in abundance. Amen.