Today's Meditation - Friday, July 31, 2020

Today's Meditation

Read Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ²And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. ⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” ¹²All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

¹⁴But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ¹⁵Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. ¹⁸Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. ¹⁹And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. ²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. ²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

And the Christian church, founded by the followers of Jesus Christ with power from the Holy Spirit, was born.  When Peter stood up to preach that day in the center of the city, the followers and those who believed in all that Peter preached about believed that the coming of the Lord would be soon.  The prophecy of the signs that would come were expected any moment, any day, any season - over two thousand years later, they still have not occurred.  Oh, many people have predicted the last days.  They have read the heavenly signs of fire and smoke, they have witnessed the wars and destruction that were supposed to come with the end times, they have used numerical codes to calculate the last days.  None of them have ever been right.  Their dates have come and gone.  We are still here.  What is our purpose?  What should we be doing in these intervening years that are still ahead of us?  

We should be acting as if the Kingdom of God was here and now, following the mandates of Christ, living our best lives as our best selves.  Too often we get caught up in the everyday hassles of life, the struggles and the burden of living.  We should be a blessing to God, giving thanks to the creator for the creation and honoring one another as a brother and sister.  This is the commandment of Christ, and this is what the Holy Spirit filled the believers with on that Pentecost day of celebration.  They went among the strangers in their midst and spoke to them about all that Christ had taught them in the languages of each.

Many have interpreted this passage about speaking in tongues about speaking in each language of the people that were there as witnesses that day.  But, this is my interpretation: there is a universal language.  One that supersedes vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar.  It is the language of love, the language of the heart.  God spoke in the beginning of Creation - not with recognizable words that we know as words, but rather from the eternal heart of love.  If we speak with a heart of love, we too can create; we can create the Kingdom of God here and now.

Love in Any Language 

Today's Meditation - Thursday, July 30, 2020

Today's Meditation

Read Psalm 143

¹Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness; answer me in your righteousness.

²Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.

³For the enemy has pursued me, crushing my life to the ground, making me sit in darkness like those long dead.

⁴Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.

⁵I remember the days of old, I think about all your deeds, I meditate on the works of your hands.

⁶I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

⁷Answer me quickly, O Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me, or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.

⁸Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

⁹Save me, O Lord, from my enemies; I have fled to you for refuge.

¹⁰Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.

¹¹For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life. In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.

¹²In your steadfast love cut off my enemies, and destroy all my adversaries, for I am your servant.

     I'm not sure if I've done a meditation on this Psalm or not.  Each day normally offers three or four psalm readings in the daily lectionary, as well as an additional OT reading, one from the Gospels and another from the Epistles.  I didn't like any of the other readings, so chose this Psalm (again?).

     The author, attributed to King David, requests with urgency for God to hear his prayer.  He does so in the beginning of this psalm and throughout asking God to answer him quickly (vs. 7).  Isn't that what we all wish when we pray?  We want God to hear our prayers and to answer them quickly.  We want an instant answer and we want that answer to be OUR will.

     Unfortunately, God doesn't work like that, even though we have often believed God does.  We've even justified our causes and looked to examples in life and in scripture where God does OUR will, like a magic genie in a bottle granting us our wishes.  

     The purpose of prayer isn't to mold God's responses to our desires, but rather to eventually see and understand God's will and mold our needs and desires to what God would want.  The purpose of prayer is to find our will nestled within God's plan.  It is a shift in thought and desire, but not an easy one to accomplish.  The only way to make that shift is to begin by asking God to reveal to you His will.  I think David eventually comes to that understanding in vs. 8, "Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning, for in you I put my trust.  Teach me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul."

In what areas of your life do you need to put your trust in God?  How can you make the shift from, "O God, answer me instantly" to "Teach me the way I should go"?

I Need Thee Every Hour

Today's Meditation - Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Today's Meditation

Read Acts 1:1-14

In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning ²until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. ⁴While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; ⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ⁹When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. ¹¹They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. ¹³When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

     The Book of Acts should be read as an extension of the Gospel According to Luke.  It is the same author who continues the story.  The gospel account was about Jesus' events while he was here on earth, the Acts of the Apostles account is about the story of Christ's disciples as they shared the good news, this new Christian movement, with more people.

     In the opening of Luke's new book, he addressed it to Theophilus.   Theophilus literally means, "loved by God" and carries the idea that this person was a "friend of God".  There are some theories about who this person was.  Some speculate that this title simply is a generic term Luke used to personally address any one who is reading it.  Another theory is that this person was an actual high-ranking Roman official or officer, as he is addressed as "most excellent" Theophilus in other places.  Other theories include that he was a wealthy and influential leader in Antioch, as there is a second century reference in other writings about such a person.  Or he was one of two possible high priests in Jerusalem, one named Theophilus ben Ananus, son of Annas and brother-in-law to Caiaphus who served in Jerusalem between A.D. 37-41 or Mattathias ben Theophilus who served from A.D. 65-66.  Yet another theory holds that this is the name of the lawyer who defended Paul during his trial in Rome.  If this is true than the gospel writing and this writing were done for the purpose of defending Paul's case of being accused of insurrection against the throne and defending Christianity against the charge that it was an illegal religion.

     All possible theories hold some merit, but truthfully, we'll probably never know.  What we do know is that Luke set out to give as detailed an account as possible.  Because of that, we have an amazing gospel record and a fairly complete record of events that occurred after Jesus ascended to heaven.  We give thanks to Luke for writing such a story.  What is your story?  What are God's acts in your life?  How has God changed your life after learning and studying His record in the scriptures?

Sanctuary  You might be surprised by today's YouTube clip.  It is in Hebrew and English, sung by the Cantor, Julia Cadrain, during worship at Central Synagogue.

   

Today's Meditation - Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Today's Meditation

Read Psalm 54

¹Save me, O God, by your name, and vindicate me by your might.

²Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.

³For the insolent have risen against me, the ruthless seek my life; they do not set God before them. Selah

⁴But surely, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.

⁵He will repay my enemies for their evil. In your faithfulness, put an end to them.

⁶With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.

⁷For he has delivered me from every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

     Many of the psalms ask God to bring vengeance upon the psalmist's enemies.   I often skip over a Psalm that has a dominant characteristic of retribution or vindication in it, as they seem to go against my higher nature.   But this is part of the "human condition" - where we are showered upon by blessings and equally met with violence and revenge.  This has been part of our story almost since the beginning when Cain raised up his hand against Abel from jealousy.  And over the eons, we've perfected the art.  

     Yet, I am hopeful that we have perfected our need for one another and our love for one another, as well.  This psalm is an open and heartfelt plea to God for help in times of trouble brought about by the psalmist's enemies, whomever they may be, and asks God for justice.

     There is much in the world that requires a turn-around-point in regard to justice.  Evil is rampant in the world, subduing the voice of the meek, crushing the efforts of the weak, and rewarding those who steal and pillage for greed.  The struggle between good and evil, between right and wrong, between saints and sinners is part of our own inner turmoil - it is not solely external.

     May the good in you triumph today.

Sinner or Saint by Sarah Vaughan

Today's Meditation - Monday, July 27, 2020

Today's Meditation

Read Romans 16:1-16

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, ²so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well. ³Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, ⁴and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. ⁵Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ. ⁶Greet Mary, who has worked very hard among you. ⁷Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. ⁸Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. ¹⁰Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. ¹¹Greet my relative Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. ¹²Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; and greet his mother—a mother to me also. ¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. ¹⁵Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ¹⁶Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

     This is an odd text to have a meditation about, but I always find the background to this section of Romans quite fascinating.  First, we have Paul, the author of this letter to the Roman church, who has never been to this church and did not found it.  It was founded before Paul began his missionary journeys around Asia-Minor.

Yet, he greets 25 people by name in this section and mentions details about many of them.  I would be hard-pressed to remember the names of more than 3 or 4 people at other churches I have visited and done some ministry with, let alone 25 people I had not known well.  Paul makes an effort to remember people's names and remember details about their lives.  They have now been remembered in the annals of history through his writings.

     About 6 years ago on my way to the home of a new ESL student, I was early and therefore stopped at a tiny neighborhood coffee shop.  I ordered an Iced Caramel Latte, something that I usually order at most coffee shops in the summer.  I spoke briefly with the owner and she asked my name.  It was a busy place, with customers coming and going during the half hour that I hung out there.  I did not return to that coffee shop for a number of months as I had now estimated the correct travel time between my house and my student's.  But, one day, I stopped again.  The owner remembered my name AND the drink I had ordered.  I was so impressed that I started stopping on a regular basis, whenever I was out that way.

    To be remembered by name and some detail about your life is often personally rewarding.  It conveys the idea that you matter, that your life matters, that you are important to the other person.  Some people say that they are terrible with remembering people's names (I'm one of them), but try to make an effort to remember.  It makes a world of difference to the other person!  After all, our names are written in the Book of Life.

I Will Remember You - this song is dedicated to all the people who have been part of my life in big and small ways - from the earliest part of my life until now.  I will remember YOU!

Today's Worship Service and Sermon for July 26, 2020

Worship for the Lord’s Day

July 26, 2020

A Note before we begin this day’s worship:

          We will continue to worship from home until further notice.  However, we’ve added video of our normal PowerPoint for the hymns with Bob Morris playing the organ at Bethesda and a video of the sermon for your worship experience. 

          Some additional announcements: 

          Our VBS program; Creation – God’s Great Big Beautiful World will run through Aug. 5.  It has been well received and more kids are enjoying the kits, although we had a slow start.  Kids between Kindergarten and 5^th grade can continue to come by the churches at Olivet Presbyterian Church in West Elizabeth, PA on Wednesday between 1-3pm and at Bethesda United Presbyterian Church, Elizabeth, PA between 3-4pm. 

Garrett Little will be celebrating his birthday on August 5.  It is a milestone birthday for him because last year he got to ring the bell at Children’s Hospital to celebrate his remission from Leukemia.   His favorite things are Wendy’s Chili and Frosty.  I thought it would be great to help him and his family celebrate his birthday by giving him a bunch of Wendy’s gift cards.  If you are able, please let me know.

Our Sessions will meet via Zoom on Aug 11 at 7pm.  Hopefully, we’ll have more to report after their next meeting.

Finally, with sadness we had to say goodbye to our Bright Beginning Preschool Staff at Bethesda; Founding Directory, Jennifer Wooley and her Assistant, Amber Mayersky.  We are currently delaying a fall opening due to unknown protocols needed for a safe opening for our staff and children, what the school districts will do, and these staff changes.  Keep our departing staff, community children and parents in your prayers.  We do hope to have a new staff onboard shortly after the new year of 2021 to plan on a full opening by the next school year.  If you know of any possible candidates, let us know.

Be patient.  We will be together again, soon!  Until then, let’s begin:

Prelude

Opening Prayer

Our gracious and ever loving God, we rest in the knowledge
of the wonderful works You have done for us, and of the deep and abiding love You have for us and for all God’s people.  Search our hearts.  Fill our soul with Your indwelling Spirit who whispers to our soul that all will be well if we but trust in You.  Shine Your light before us, that we may see our path to You and to Your kingdom on earth.  AMEN

Hymn  Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise

Prayer of Confession

We pause this morning, O God.  We live in the midst of great and abiding love, but also in the midst of deceit and lies.  May we be found faithful in all we do.  May we speak the truth in love and live lives of love each day.  Too often we seek You in the spectacular and otherworldly.  May we see the many in-breakings of Your kingdom in the everyday, ordinary things of life: in mustard seeds and yeast, in the treasures of the fields and fish gathered in nets.  May we be able to answer with a full-throated yes when asked if we have understood Your teachings and Your call.  Forgive us our many ways of misinterpreting Your words of wisdom, O Lord, and restore us to Your side.  AMEN

Words of Assurance

When we are not sure how to pray, or if we are even able to address God in prayer, the Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.
Know that no matter what, nothing, absolutely nothing in all creation can ever separate us from God’s presence and God’s love.  AMEN

Affirmation of Faith – The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost; born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.  I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.  Amen.

Pastoral Prayer

          For we ask this in Jesus’ Name, Your One and Only Son, who taught us to pray saying; Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.  Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  AMEN.

Hymn It is Well With My Soul

Scripture Readings

Old Testament: Psalm 105:1-11

¹O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.

²Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wonderful works.

³Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

⁴Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually.

⁵Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

⁶O offspring of his servant Abraham, children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

⁷He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.

⁸He is mindful of his covenant forever, of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,

⁹the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac,

¹⁰which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,

¹¹saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.”

New Testament: Romans 8:26-39

²⁶Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. ²⁷And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ²⁸We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

²⁹For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. ³⁰And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

³¹What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³²He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? ³³Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. ³⁵Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Anthem – Nothing Can Separate Us

Sermon –  Just a note: You can click on the sermon title and hear/watch me give this sermon via YouTube from my home office.

What Can Be Said?

(based on Romans 8:26-39)

          In the middle of what we’ve read from our Romans text, the author seems to believe that everything has already been said, that it is quite obvious, a conclusion has been drawn, so what more can be said?  Who will separate us from the love of Christ?

          “Nothing” writes Paul.  “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.

          As I’ve mentioned before, this is one of my all-time favorite Bible verses.  It resonates with such pure and simple hope.  It gives power and assurance to all those who feel separated, who feel outcast, unloved, and forgotten.  (sigh) And yet, there is a pulsing question left unspoken in this passage that I grapple with, all the time.  What about all the things that do separate us from that love?

          A number of years ago, I used to lead Youth Mission trips to Alaska, taking groups of high school students for two weeks away from home and familiar territory.  They all came from different backgrounds and different Presbyterian Churches in our presbytery.  During those trips and our preparation for them, I got to know each of the students personally.  I heard about their doubts, their frustrations, their joys and their sorrows back home.  One of the girls on our second or third trip broke down in tears on our last night in Alaska, afraid of coming back home.  She told us about her home life, about her conscious decision to be a Christian against her parents wishes, to be active in her church and to go on this mission trip in spite of her parent’s intolerance, ridicule, and neglect.  She talked about how difficult it was to be a Christian in that kind of atmosphere and how it separated her sometimes from Christ’s love, because she felt unloved at home.

          Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  We, us human beings will, at times – when we relate to one another in unhealthy ways, like when we embellish stories with assumptions and half-truths, when we foster mistrust based on race, gender, age, or when we use violence towards one another.

          Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  We will.  Separation from God is what original sin is all about.  God designed creation to live in harmony – plants, animals, wind, water, people.  But, unfortunately, harmony was broken, and creation and creatures became separated from one another and from God.  Christians believe that in Jesus Christ God has shown us how to reconnect – how to bridge that separation – which is why Paul claims that because of Christ, we know that nothing separates us from God.

          But, I think it’s often a matter of perspective.

          Isaac Asimov tells the story of Rabbi Feldman in his book Asimov Laughs Again.  This rabbi was having trouble with his congregation.  They could agree upon nothing.  Even the Sabbath itself became an area of conflict.  The president of the congregation called for a meeting to settle all the areas of dispute, once and for all.

          The rabbi, the president, and 10 elders met.  One by one the issues were addressed, and on each issue, the rabbi was a lonely voice in the wilderness.

          The president of the congregation called for a vote.  The slips were collected and the president announced that the vote was 11 to 1.

          The rabbi said, “you think because of the vote that you are right and I am wrong?” The rabbi called on God to send a sign that the rabbi was right.  As he spoke, a bolt of lightning struck the conference table and broke it in two.  The president and the elders fell to the floor.  The rabbi just stood there with a smile on his face.

          Slowly, the president got up and spoke, “All right,” he said, “11 to 2.  But we still have the majority.”

          When Paul claims that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, he’s looking at it from God’s perspective.  When we look at it from a human point of view, we see something differently.  We see all the things we do or don’t do that separate us from each other, from God, from the world around us – even from ourselves.

          Take corporate greed.  It’s about people who have been entrusted with power and responsibility, and yet have stolen millions from their customers, employers and employees for personal greed, who have racked up billions upon billions of dollars into their own personal coffers.  I read an article the other day about the richest people in the world – all of them corporate heads who either lead large international companies or own those companies.  Pause

Let’s just say for the sake of argument that you are an immortal and while the Pharaoh’s constructed their pyramids in Giza, you decide to save $10,000 a day, every day of your life.  Nearly 5,000 years later, that’s how long it has been since those pyramids were erected, you still – YOU STILL - do not have as much money as today’s richest executives.  That’s almost impossible for me to fathom and wrap my head around. 

How many of these people are people of faith?  Their parents and their religious or moral education probably taught them right from wrong.  But they have become separated – not only from those whose best interests they were entrusted with – but also from God.  It’s fine if they treat their employees really well.  It’s fine if they offer their products at decent prices.  It’s fine if they give back to their community in proper relation to what their community has given them.  But remember Jesus’ caution:  “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God”?  Greed separates us from one another.  It can even separate us from doing what is right.  Who will separate us from the love of Christ?  We will – and we do.

          I once had a phone – you know, the old kind that were attached by phone wires and jacks to the wall of your house – well, my phone had lost the little tab on the plastic end at the base of the connection where it went into the phone jack and therefore was often loose.  Most of the time when you spoke on that phone it would come out of the base while you were speaking.  Immediately, on my end, the conversation stopped.  But if you plugged the cord back in before the person calling hung up, you were instantly reconnected and your conversation could go on.  If you did it fast enough the person on the other end of the line wouldn’t even know you were ever disconnected.  Sometimes our phone cords to God are loose and falling out.  God is still and always will be on the other end, but we are no longer connected.  Who can separate us from the love of Christ?  We can and we do – for lots of reasons.

          But, Paul reminds us in the passage, even when our phone cords pop out and we are disconnected from God, God is still connected to us.  It’s our responsibility to plug our cords back in.

          Paul knew this personally.  As a young man, as a leader in the synagogue, he hated Christians.  He brought them to the high priests for punishment.  He stood close by while Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death.  But on the way to Damascus to arrest more Christians, Paul, then known as Saul, encountered Christ.  It changed his life – and because of that, it has changed ours in his writings.

          Few of us will ever have an experience of connection like Paul’s.  Ours tend to be less dramatic.

          Frederick Buechner, one of the top 20th Century preachers and author once wrote, “The love for equals is a human thing…it is to love what is loving and lovely.  The world smiles.  The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing…This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the world.  The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing…the world is bewildered by its saints.  And then there is the love for the enemy…love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain…This is God’s love.  It conquers the world.”

          “For I am convinced,” Paul writes, “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

          Paul believes that the words of Holy Scripture, the words of Christ himself, and Paul’s own previous writings have already summed it all up.  What more can be said?  Nothing can separate us from God.  We might try to do it in how we relate to one another.  There might be evil at work in the world around us.  We might even succeed in making ourselves feel that we are not connected to God because of what has been done to us.  But, if any of us are feeling separated from God, apart from all God has in mind and in store for us, perhaps it is only our perspective.  Because from God’s point of view, there is nothing that can separate us.  AMEN.

Hymn  O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee

Benediction

With a song of praise on our lips, with the love of God in our hearts, with a commitment to usher in God’s kingdom, with all that we are and all we can be, we go forth with God.  AMEN

Postlude

Today's Meditation - Saturday, July 25, 2020

Today's Meditation

Read Psalm 111

¹Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

²Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.

³Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.

⁴He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful.

⁵He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant.

⁶He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.

⁷The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.

⁸They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

⁹He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding." (verse 10)

     This is probably one of the most misunderstood phrases in all of scripture and it occurs many times throughout the Bible.  In our American English understanding of this word - fear - we immediately think of something to be afraid of, to be scared/frightened of.  And that understanding certainly fits if you view God as an angry, punishing God or a God that passes judgment and consequences on those who do wrong, casting them into the pit of Hell.  But this word in Hebrew is yirah and it encompasses a much more dynamic meaning.   Yirah means to be completely full of reverence or awe in respect and honor to the point of bowing down.  Because to look upon it (God) face-to-face is frightening, in a way, certainly in comparison to something that is less spectacular, less magnificent (us).

     This "fullness of awesome or reverential respect" of God is just the beginning of gaining wisdom.  Putting God in proper perspective; as the creator of the Universe, as the awesome author of life, as its sole source of existence is yirah.

     The second step of gaining wisdom is the accumulation of knowledge.  The knowledge of what God has done through the generations of humans, through the centuries and ages of the earth's existence, through the eons of time and the expanse of what God has created.  The physical sciences, philosophy, psychology, sociology and all of their discoveries are only brushing the surface of this knowledge.  All of that knowledge leads only to more yirah of the Lord.

     With more knowledge, we begin to gain an understanding, we begin to have an inkling of wisdom that comes from that understanding.  Such as how best to use that knowledge for the benefit of one another, how best to enable ourselves and our planet in relation to the cosmos to exist in harmony.  But it all must begin with "fear of the Lord", otherwise it is empty and useless information.

     May you be in "fear in the Lord" today.

How Great Thou Art

Today's Meditation - Friday, July 24, 2020

Today's Meditation

Read Psalm 32

¹Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

²Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.

⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

⁵Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

⁶Therefore let all who are faithful offer prayer to you; at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters shall not reach them.

⁷You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah

⁸I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

⁹Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle, else it will not stay near you.

¹⁰Many are the torments of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.

¹¹Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

For today's meditation, I want to focus on verses 6-8.

There are moments in life when the "rush of mighty waters" threaten to overtake us; when the circumstances of the day are overwhelming and we feel that our present day living is simply too much.  The psalmist says, in those moments, at our times of distress, offer prayer to God.  

The result of prayer during those times will be that God serves as a hiding place, a shelter from the raging waters and the overwhelming circumstance of the moment.  Sheltering in God's presence, we can breathe, we can gain a better foothold and grip, we can rest.

But this isn't the only thing that happens when we find shelter in God.  We are given the opportunity to learn.  God teaches.  God gives counsel with His eye upon us.  Sometimes, in the midst of so much anxiety and too much turmoil, we can't think clearly.   When we offer up our burdens to God, we're given a moment to breathe, to rest, and in that rest we find counsel and teaching for a clear path forward.

I find that I hold on to my troubles way too long.  Why?  Because I often think that I'm strong enough, smart enough, or brave enough to bear it all.  We aren't.  So, in times of stress, in moments when the raging waters might feel that they are about to overwhelm you, go to God in prayer.

The popular children's Disney animation of Elsa in Frozen gives us a clue regarding this in the thematic song, "Let it go!"  We need to learn how to let things go and stop holding on to them.

Let It Go

Today's Meditation - Thursday, July 23, 2020

Today's Meditation

Read Romans 15:1-13

We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ²Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor. ³For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” ⁴For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

⁵May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, ⁶so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. ⁸For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name”; ¹⁰and again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”; ¹¹and again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him”; ¹²and again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope.”

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Did you know that there are nearly 100 scripture verses in the New Testament alone that talk about building one another up or encouraging one another?  It is one of the most covered concepts of the new covenant.  Here are a few examples:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing."
• Romans 14:19  "Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding."
• Hebrews 3:13 "Encourage one another every day, as long as it is called "today", so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."

Why then is our culture so set on putting others down?  This gets us, as a whole and healthy community, nowhere.  In fact, there are modern day proverbs that speak about this.  Here are a few examples of those, as well.

• People who are secure in themselves don't put others down.  They lift them up.
• Blowing out someone else's candle doesn't make yours shine any brighter.
• You can't fix yourself by breaking someone else.
• How you make others feel about themselves, says a lot about you.

Say something positive and helpful to someone else today.  Let us work towards a whole and healthy community.  Build someone up, instead of tearing them down.

Encourage One Another - I'm in the midst of writing VBS curriculum and giving out kits to the kids in our community.  This isn't one of the songs for this year's theme, but I liked it and thought it was catchy and helpful in remembering the theme of today's meditation. 

Today's Meditation - Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Today's Meditation

Read Psalm 147:1-11

¹Praise the Lord! How good it is to sing praises to our God; for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.

²The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.

³He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.

⁴He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.

⁵Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.

⁶The Lord lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground.

⁷Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre.

⁸He covers the heavens with clouds, prepares rain for the earth, makes grass grow on the hills.

⁹He gives to the animals their food, and to the young ravens when they cry.

¹⁰His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;

¹¹but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

     I've mentioned this many times and said it again to a friend of mine the other day; there is nothing like music to fill the soul with joy.  It touches the heart and reaches into the core of us like very few other things can do.

     I've spent my life singing in school choirs, church choirs, and community choirs.  I spend my private times listening to music on the radio in the car, singing in the shower, hearing music in my head. 
    And there really isn't any better music for the soul than worship/praise music.  Take this day to find music that fills your heart with joy.  Take this day to find music that uplifts your spirit.  Take this day to find music that restores your gladness in all that God has created and what God is working out in these days and hours of creation.
     May this day be a blessing to you.

On Eagle's Wings