Category: Bible

Faithfulness

4/24/2019

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Psalm 86:15

As I read this verse from Psalm 86 this morning I thought, “Oh, that’s what I’m supposed to do, that’s what God wants of me: imitate God. It’s a given that I will fall short of the mark, but if I don’t try, then what is the point of reading the Bible, what’s the point of trying to lead a good life.
It’s a tall order: be merciful and gracious to others, even those I deem not worthy: don’t get angry at people in the news: love everyone.
The verse ends with the word faithfulness. The only way I can begin to fulfill this tall order is by being faithful. I have no power on my own, but I can embrace faith by surrendering to God.

Eternal life lived with God

1/2/2019

I taken on the challenge of reading the Scripture, Commentary, and Reflections (by Gail R. O’Day) of the Gospel of St. John in The New Interpreter’s Bible, (Abington Press, 1995)--all 475 pages of. It inspires slow, ponderous reading; nevertheless, my goal is to complete it in 2019. So far, I’m about ready to begin Chapter 4.
    Today I’m pondering O’Days comment about eternal life in John 3:15:

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

    She writes: “Eternal” does not mean mere endless duration of human existence, but is a way of describing life as lived in the unending presence of God.”
    As I meditate on this idea of eternity as God’s ending presence, a sense of deep, timeless peace that is eternity coming over me; I could be in the moment forever; if something were to happen to me I would be at peace; worries and concerns, as well has joys and happy anticipations fade a way.
     The spiritual awakening in me is palpable when I shift from considering eternity as part of the human life cycle (Chronos time) to meditating on it as a way of being with God (Kairos time). I sense a leap in faith that is not of my own doing.

My own Bible study

10/16/2018

     Although I’m aware of the many benefits to joining a Bible study, I’ve decided to create my own private one. At the moment I don’t want another defined commitment on my calendar, nor do I want to go out to a meeting in the evening. The opinions and musing of others, therefore, will have to come from what I read. Plus, I want to get started now. In fact, I’ve already begun.
    I’m studying the Gospel of John. The text is The New Interpreter’s Bible, Each gospel section is divide into three parts: Scripture, Reflection, and Commentary. I started with Chapter 20, because I was drawn to Mary’s encounter with Jesus at the empty tomb. I’m planning to continue through the chapter to the end of the book and then start at the beginning: In the beginning was the word….
     I want to keep this study going at a steady pace, pondering and praying the entire way. I mention this because I have a tendency to rush and decide I’ve had enough before coming to the end. We shall see.

Child abuse at our borders

6/15/2018

     Yesterday on my cottagebythesea blog I wrote about the child abuse our government is carrying out on children and mothers seeking asylum as they courageously dare to enter the United States through Mexico. I’ve posted it below.
     Here on this prayerdiary I want to talk about all the praying that’s going on for the situation. People are praying and I trust you who read this blog are doing so as well.
      That’s the first thing I want to say. The second is that as Christians we are called to feed the poor… what you do to one of these, you do unto me. That’s what Jesus tells, and whenever I need a refresher, which I do, I read Matthew 25. It’s all there.
      Finally, what about the law? Jesus told the man who asked him which law to follow in order to gain eternal life, "'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.'" (Luke 10:27). You can find a similar response in Matthew 22:37.
     That sums up Jesus’ entire message. Just a few phrases, with a chapter or two thrown in for amplification and clarification.

Here are this morning’s gratitudes:
I’m grateful I had the freedom to nurse my two children.
I’m grateful that I am sooooo angry that nursing children are being taken (grabbed) from their mother’s breast at our Mexican border.
I can’t believe that my gratitude has to do with anger. As I’ve written before, every morning my husband and I start the day saying what we’re grateful for. Those ought to be positive, right? And they usually are because isn’t that the nature of gratitude? Isn’t that how we want to live?
But this is a totally new concept for me (and I’m sure I’m not alone), this separating nursing mothers and children. Separating is bad enough, but taking a baby from the breast? Child abuse is hardly a strong enough term. Is there any argument that says it’s not child abuse? I’m not saying abusive in some general, vague term. I’m using the full term: CHILD ABUSE.
Who are these people who physically carry out this child abuse? Border guards, men and women. I assume that more of them are men, because that’s the kind of job men have. A few may be women, but I can’t imagine any woman would grab a child from a mother’s breast. More likely the women border guards are probably in the detention centers comforting children and mothers.
I assume that these border guards are citizens of this democracy called the United States of America. How can these men and women stand by and be complicit in this child abuse? They need the job to support their families and they are powerless—the two go together; I get that. I also get that that is what German citizens said as they unwittingly participated in Hitler’s cult, which let to the Nazi state. And now, our the United States government, via the president, is requiring its citizens to participate in immoral and unethical acts against fellow human beings.
I’m angry but refuse to admit I’m powerless. I have to believe that I am a citizen of a democracy. I can speak out against this child abuse, but is there something more to do?

Elizabeth Warren Christian faith

9/6/2017

     Did you know that Elizabeth Warren is a practicing Christian? Her faith was revealed in an article entitled “For Warren, faith is (quietly) critical to her public life” on the front page of the Boston Globe on September 3rd. I never knew this, nor I gather, do most of her fellow citizens. Those who knew are pastors of churches where she come to worship.
Evidently Warren is very private about her faith. She prays, reads the Bible, and follows Jesus. We have a little Jesus in all of us, she believes.
Recently, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Warren spoke on (Matthew 25:40).
     Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my breathren, ye have done it unto me

“He [Jesus}is saying to us, first there’s God in everyone of us, there’s Jesus in every one of us—however you see it in your religion, that inside there’s something holy in everyone.”

     What a powerful public statement for us Christians sitting to the left of the political spectrum. An affirmation and inspiration for us to speak out about our faith. It is also a powerful statement for all people working for peace, longing to be compassionate, and who can see Jesus as an model of human good.

     It seems that Warren’s life, both public and private, receives its energy, not from ego but from God. The Jesus in her speaks and acts for the poor, the powerless, the disadvantaged, and the underprivileged. It is worth noting that Joe Kennedy III recently referred to Matthew 25 in his plea from the senate floor for health coverage.

Meeting Jesus during Easter Week

4/19/2017

I love Easter Week, which begins Easter Sunday and ends the following Saturday, because Jesus feels especially present to me.
According to the Gospels, he was resurrected but hadn’t yet ascended.Jesus was still walking around, meeting two of the apostles on the Road to Emmaus, and showing Thomas his wounds in the Upper Room.
These stories encourage me to be attentive as I take a walk or sit in the Angel Room. Maybe I will meet Jesus, too. That’s what faith is.

Mary/Martha challenge~

7/9/2016

I found myself in one of those Mary/Martha situations the other day. I was Martha in the kitchen; all those sitting there-- not helping—were the Marys. The truth is, I wanted to be a Mary and have some Marthas doing the work. That’s a human understanding of the story. Of course there is more, which I’ve been pondering for the past few days.
The Mary/Martha story is at the end of Chapter 10 of Luke’s Gospel, which starts out with the commissioning, sending out and return of the seventy (or seventy two) disciples, followed by the lawyer asking Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life, and the Good Samaritan parable, and ending with Jesus in the home of Mary and Martha. From world wide evangelism, to an example that everyone is our neighbor, to one’s personal relationship with God.
Embedded in this chapter is the Christian message: You shall 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 your neighbor as yourself. Luke has the lawyer responding to Jesus’ question.
He knows the answer and so do we, but following it is the challenge. Whether we are out in the world or sitting in our own homes, again and again we are called to renew our capacity to love.

My western view of art~

4/7/2016

The following is also posted on my cottagebythesea blog (along with a slideshow) but I want to add a little here. Just as I don’t read the Bible only as history but how that history speaks to me now, I don’t look at religious paintings only as history (of art), but as living stories with messages for me today.
When I gaze at Fra Angelico’s Annunciation, I think of Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she will be the Christ bearer. I also ponder what God is asking be to bear, what God is calling me to do in my life.

My observation is that Asians make up the largest group of tourists in Italy these days. It’s a good thing for the economy; they are the ones carrying huge bags out of the high-end designer stores on Via Tournabuoni. I’m talking about pocket books costing $2000 and dresses at $4000. There aren’t enough of us American to keep those shops open. I understand this—well kind of.
In museums and churches I notice Asians glancing at noteworthy pieces of art while intensely reading their guidebooks. For me, on the other hand, the history of western art, and especially the Biblical stories depicted in paintings, are deeply embedded in my mind and spirit. When I visit museums and churches I have an enormous back-history to draw upon, both consciously and unconsciously. It at these times that I am reminded of my superficial viewing of Asian art at the Shanghai Museum in 2003, and I am humbled.

Read the Bible!

1/7/2016

Sometimes I wonder if God’s call to intercessory prayer is some kind of hoax that I’ve made up for myself. Faith tells me that yes, I am called to pray for people, and that I’d better take it seriously. If nothing else, the alternatives are terrible—live in despair and cynicism, for starts, or still worse, give up.
     This was confirmed for me the other evening in the local movie theater as we sat though a half hour of violent previews before the feature film, “The Big Short” (which had no physical violence) came on. I was personally sadden and shaken by these previews, but beyond that, my faith was shaken. Why believe in God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven? Or how can I? Violence begets violence, and our world is permeated with it.
     As Christians, however, we are blessed to return to scripture for help. One of the benefits of reading the Bible regularly is that we can call upon scripture to help us work through difficulties. In this case I was reminded of Abraham bargaining with God in Genesis 18:16-33 to save even a few people of Sodom. Even for the sake of ten, God agrees not to destroy the city.
    Then he (Abraham) said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”
He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”
    When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home (Gen. 18:32-33).

     Thank God for the Bible. Thank God I can bargain/argue/talk with God. Than God I never entirely give up on God, whose power and righteousness is more than we can ever hope or imagine.

....but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil (1 Thess. 5:22-23).

Feeding the five hundred~

7/25/2015

I was planning to post something while on vacation in Maine, but the ‘24 hour flu’ usurped . So here I am back at home. This weekend was supposed to be a time of quiet following that busy social time away, but two hours after we arrived home, I found myself saying yes to running the church service this Sunday--which of course includes giving the sermon, which of course means writing one.

The lectionary is John 6: 1-15, the Feeding of the Five Thousand. In John’s gospel Jesus, not the apostles as in the other gospels, does the feeding, hands out the pieces of bread and fish. No intermediaries necessary in this one. I like that. Here we have the Living Christ showing us how to do our part, our part, not all the parts. We all have our gifts, be it in our church community or in other areas of our life. Do what we can and receive the rest from others. That way others can do the same. Everyone giving and receiving.