The Work of Perseverance

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“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”      

                                                                                  James 1:4                                        

It’s official – after a very long, very hard winter, the snow has finally melted in Boston! Mayor Marty Walsh announced on Tuesday that the last of snow from the 75 foot high pile on Tide Street was finally gone. Two weeks ago the New York Times marveled that the snow was still there, commenting about the snow pile, “…what the mound has lost in stature, it has made up for in sheer endurance.” Who would have imagined that snow could persevere all the way to mid-July, surviving heat, rain and even thunderstorms?

The life of discipleship is a bit like snow. There are times when our lives seem to be blanketed with grace and faithfulness. And then there are other times that feel like the hot sun baking that glistening coat of faith, threatening to melt our good intentions and faithful actions. We may be ready to throw in the towel, to give up on discipleship and just do life my way. But James reminds us that perseverance can lead us to the reward of maturity and wholeness. If we persevere, if we acknowledge our failings but commit ourselves to trying again, we can move beyond our lapse and move closer to that wholeness and completeness God desires for us.

So if you made a commitment to read the Bible every day, and then miss four days in a row, don’t give up. Admit you’re not perfect and persevere in your commitment, making today the day to begin again. Or if daily prayer was your intent but work and family obligations have filled your time for a week, just acknowledge your lapse and recommit beginning today. And if you made a promise to give regularly of your time in ministry, but haven’t been able squeeze it in for a couple weeks, don’t give up. Look at your schedule and make adjustments so you can renew your promise starting this week.

God knows we aren’t perfect; we aren’t fully mature in our faith or complete in living as disciples of Jesus. But God invites us to persevere in our faith commitment. And as we return to the paths that lead us toward God, we may find ourselves a little bit wiser, a little better able to deal with those things that draw us away from God. With practice, patience and perseverance, our faith will grow and lead us ever closer to the Lord. After all, if a snow pile in Boston can endure until mid-July, certainly we can persevere in our discipleship with God’s help.

Prayer: Your love, O Lord, calls me to respond, to seek your presence in my life and to follow your will. In moments of strong faith, I commit to follow your ways, but too often, Lord, I fall away from that commitment. Other things grab my attention in the moment, different priorities claim my time. Help me, Lord, to return again and again to those paths that will lead me closer to you. Be patient with me, O God, and strengthen my perseverance. As I practice my faith, let me grow in maturity, in wisdom, and in relationship with you and your son, Jesus Christ, through whom I pray. Amen.

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July 17, 2015

What’s On Your Jacket?

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“If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.”
                                                                                          Galatians 5:14-15                                 image

On Wednesday night, a young white male walked into the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in time for the weekly bible study. He asked for the pastor, the Rev. Clementa C. Pinkney, and sat next to the pastor as the study began. Witnesses report that after nearly an hour of the study, the young man spoke up. “”I have to do it,” he was quoted as saying. “You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.” And then he opened fire, killing nine people, leaving just three survivors.

Dylann Roof, a 21 year old, was arrested Thursday for the attack. Facebook pictures show him in a jacket featuring the flags of two former white supremacist regimes, leading authorities to label this a possible hate crime. Those flags proclaim his attitude toward people of color – the same attitude shared by these racist regimes.

That picture raised a question in my mind. What patch might I wear on my jacket to proclaim my attitude? One look at Roof’s Facebook page would let anyone know what he believed with his face in a scowl and the two patches on his jacket. What, I wondered, would declare to the world what I believed? How could I proclaim love rather than hate as the dominant attitude in my life?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reminds us that our attitudes, our beliefs, are as important to God as our actions. The Old Testament commandment, ‘thou shalt not kill,’ is extended by Jesus to include our attitudes, not merely our actions towards others. On that basis, even before Roof pulled he trigger, his hatred of some people groups violated God’s law as Jesus described it.

We are all called by God to love one another and bear each other’s burdens. That means loving those who are like us as well as those who are different, those who think like us and those whose opinions are diametrically opposite to ours. We must stand for love, for equality and justice for all people. And to remember that when any one of God’s children is hurt, no matter their race or ethnicity, we are all hurt. Last night at the prayer vigil at Mother Bethel, the pastor said he knew that many present were not AME members, and someone in the congregation spoke up, “We are all AME!”

We are to care deeply about each other, about friends at Grove as well as the nine dead in Charleston. If we don’t, if we allow feelings to turn us against each other or groups of people, we will end up devouring one another.  That leads down the path of destruction, destruction of our society and of persons.

So back to my initial question. As we pray for the victims’ families and for Roof himself, what symbol might we use to proclaim our love? Perhaps the symbol of the cross best expresses the love to which we are called – love that is self-giving, love that puts the welfare of others ahead of self, love that may be costly and self-sacrificung. Let us raise our prayers to the Lord for all of God’s beloved children, even those who have turned their back on God, and work toward that world where God’s will is done in all of life.

Prayer: God of love, in Jesus Christ you made an enormous sacrifice for a people who had turned their back on you.  Teach me to love with that same love.  When I am angry with a brother, show me how to forgive; when I hate a sister, show me how to love.  Let me look always to Jesus for the model on which to build my life, and remember his love and sacrifice for me.  Amen.

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Tending God’s Plantings

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“Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of its young twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it, in order that it may produce boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar.”
                                                                                                                                      Ezekiel 17:22-23a

Our youth choir is preparing to head out on tour a week from now. These young people have worked for months, learning music, practicing dances, and anticipating the joy of sharing God’s Word in song with people form Delaware to North Carolina. While God can work through anyone who is open to the Spirit’s power, it is certainly easier for God to take a cutting from a mighty cedar and plant that to take root and grow. And it is far more likely that a young person raised in a home that honors and worships God will find their way to discipleship than a youth raised in a home that fails to acknowledge the Lord.

Each one of us has the privilege of helping to shape the life of young people around us. It isn’t just our own children who look to us as examples. It may be the child who lives down the street, the youth who bags our groceries, the young person we taught in school. There are so many opportunities to interact with young people in our world, and so many times that we may not even realize that we are being observed, that our actions and words are having an effect. Our words and actions can help or hurt, can build up or injure.

Research tells us that adolescence is a time of exploring identity, and the time of life when the most decisions are made to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Every young person inner congregation has the potential to be a fully committed disciple of Jesus; but they also have the potential to turn their back on the Lord if what they observe suggests that Christianity is not the way to go. The story of Gandhi, how he explored the Christian faith but rejected it because of the institutional discrimination he experienced as a man of color during his years as a lawyer in South Africa, reminds us that our actions at one stage of an individual’s life can have life-long impacts.

So look around, consider who are the young people with whom; you come into contact, and make every effort to work with God to tend the young saplings planted by God, needing our nurture and care to become the mighty cedars God intended. Who knows – there may be pastors and professional ministry workers among them, maybe even the next Billy Graham!
Prayer: Gracious God, fill me with your Spirit this day. Let me live each and every moment showing your love to the world, building up those with whom I come in contact, and modeling the life of discipleship. Let my life shine so that all who see me, no matter their age, will say, “There, indeed, is a follower of Jesus Christ, and I want to be like that.” Amen.

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FIFA and My Life in Christ

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image“They have lost all sensitivity and have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. That is not the way you learned Christ!”
Ephesians 4:19-20
The soccer world is all abuzz thanks to the breaking scandal about FIFA, the world governing body for soccer. The US government has brought charges against a score of top soccer officials, claiming bribery and corruption in the process used for awarding tournaments to cities and countries for awarding broadcast rights to media outlets. Even some star players have been crying out for years for something to be done about a culture of corruption. One south American star, Diego Maradona, said, “I was treated like a crazy person” for voicing allegations of corruption. (Philadelphia Inquirer, May 28, 2015, p. A8)

Ethics is the application of our beliefs to our actions in life. As Christians, we are called not only to affirm a belief in Jesus Christ but to order our lives around that belief living as followers in all that we do. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul was warning the Christians in Ephesus to be sure their lives were aligned with the faith they professed. His words apply not only in 1st century Asia but throughout history.

Too often, Christians have separated church from life, barricading their faith behind stained glass barriers that limit matters of faith to Sunday morning and meetings in church buildings. But that is exactly the opposite of wha Christ intended. The teachings of Jesus are designed to shape our daily life, and Sunday morning at church is a time to be strengthened and supported as we prepare to go out into the world. It is there, in our Monday through Saturday lives, that our faith is most important. It is in how we live our daily lives that the world will see Christ and come to know the truth about God.

The scandal at FIFA involves many people from a variety of nations, but a significant portion are men from South America who, in all likelihood, are professing Christians. What does it say to the world that they were willing to engage in such scandalous actions? How might we order our lives to show the truth of Christ and the love of God eery day? How might we order our worship to be a source of strength and support for the living of each day in the world?
Prayer: Almighty God, I am weak, but I rejoice that in your power and with the support of my brothers and sisters in faith, I can live a life that brings honor to you. Let my life be a window that allows the world around me to see who you are. May I proclaim my love for Jesus Christ not with words alone, but with every action I take each day.   Amen.

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Tick Tock

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“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…God has made everything suitable for its time” Ecclesiastes 3:1 and 11a

When I was a kid, I loved to watch Peter Pan. The version with Mary Martin, that is. Every year in the spring, our local New York station would broadcast Peter Pan and Mary Martin would fly from side to side of the screen, the Lost Boys would refuse to grow up, and Cyril Richard as Captain Hook would flee the crocodile that had taken his hand. Periodically through the show, you would hear the “tick-tock” of the crocodile, and that inexorable time sound would strike fear into the heart of the pirate crew.

There are occasions today when it seems that time is moving as inexorably as the “tick-tock” of the crocodile, moving forward in ways that strikes fear into the bravest of hearts. Just a few weeks ago many clergy were scrambling to put together bulletins and sermons for at least four or five services over the 8 days of Holy Week, and the “tick-tock” sounded loud in our ears.

There are other times when the deadline we face is of our own making. We may want a church committee to complete an action by a certain time or vote to move forward right now! And sometimes, it feels like the crocodile is running toward us. It is important for us to remember that not everything needs to be done on our time. Sometimes, we need to wait on God’s time when things seem to come slowly, or recognize that God is moving forward with or without us when time races by. Some things we can control, for other things we need to listen for God’s time and respect that God’s time may not be ours. Another translation of Ecclesiastes 3:11a says “God has made everything beautiful in its time.” So whether we wait upon the Lord, or move forward convinced of the urgency of the time, let us do so only after we have stopped, prayed and listened for God’s will.

Prayer: Gracious God, in the fullness of time you sent your son, not when we wanted it, not when people were convinced that they had to have a Saviour, but when you judged the time to be right. Help us to wait patiently for your will, to act quickly when you call us, and to depend on you to set the agenda for each day. Amen.

Martin Luther King Day Musings

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

“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:28

I invite you to do a little experiment. Set a one dollar bill on the table, and beside it, place four quarters. Now ask yourself, which is worth more – the dollar bill or the quarters? They look different: one’s paper, one metal; they have different uses: one can go in a parking meter and the other can’t. But they are both equal in value, the one dollar bill and stack of quarters. There is no difference in how much they are worth.

We human beings come in different sizes, different colors, different gifts and abilities, but we are all equal in God’s eyes. The black skinned Nigerian who was murdered by Boco Haram terrorists is of no less worth than the Parisian cartoonist murdered by AQAP terrorists at the offices of Charlie Hebdo. And yet, last week over 40 world leaders and millions of people gathered to protest the deaths of seventeen people in France, while Nigerians, almost alone, mourned the deaths of hundreds, possibly even thousands in rural villages and continued to remember the hundreds of girls kidnapped by Boco Haram.

As we move toward Monday’s observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we must recommit ourselves once more to justice and equality as God’s children. Let justice be offered not only to those who look like us but to all people. Let our outrage at terrorism be as great when it occurs on the African continent as in Europeans. When diseases like Ebola strike, let’s not wait for mounting death tolls to include people like us – let’s work to bring healing and hope no matter where, no matter what the victims look like. Let’s remember, that while we may look different from each other, we are all of equal value before God’s throne of grace. As our youth sing, “What color is God’s skin? It is red, it is yellow, it is black, it is white. Everyone’s the same in the good Lord’s sight.”

Prayer: Gracious God, open my eyes to see the world as you see it. Open my heart to love all your children equally. Open my hands to serve your people and seek justice for each of your children, regardless of where they live, how they look or what language they speak. For I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ, who died that all might live. Amen.
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Deflategate

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imageThou shalt not steal. Exodus 20:15

Thou shalt not steal a football game by deflating the ball. NFL Rules.
The football world is all abuzz. Last week the New England Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts to take the AFC championship and earn the right to go to the Super Bowl. But following the victory, the league discovered that the 12 balls provided for the game by the Patriots had b in under inflated, making them easier to throw. The big question now is who did this and who knew about it. And of course, what can be done about it? Do the Patriots forfeit the game? TV demands a Super Bowl, so a replay is not an option. And who should pay the consequences: the whole team, the quarterback who must have felt that something was wrong with the ball, or whoever incorrectly inflated or intentionally deflated the balls?

Ethics is the process of living our our faith in our daily actions. There isn’t always a cut and dry, simple answer to the question of what God demands. We know, for example, that we are not to steal. But does that apply to deflating the balls to win a game? And who should be held accountable for such an action? Most often, our life choices are more complex than should I steal or not, should I kill or not, should I lie or not. Ou decisions are nuanced and difficult.

That is why church community is so important to us. In the context of community we can discuss the choices before us. With others who seek to follow Jesus we can explore the areas of grey in our lives, those places that are not clearly black and white, but instead have wriggle room. Together with a community to which we are ac
countable, in a context of a body of b believers, we can work to discern God’s will for our lives.

I don’t know what the NFL Commissioner will decide about Deflategate, but I do know that we are blessed to call Grove our home. It is a place where we can talk about the decisions we face, where we can share honestly about the temptations we face, and where we can support one another in discerning God’s will for our lives.

Prayer: Gracious God, you have called us to live holy lives, to be holy people who live according to your will for us. Grant me the wisdom to know your will and the courage to do it. Let me find in my faith community those whose discernment will help me to live a life that is pleasing to you. for the sake of your son, Jesus.

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Loving the Difficult

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In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Mark 1:9-11

I confess that there have been a few church members through the years that I would like to have picked up by the scruff of their neck and throttled or dropped from the top of the church steeple. In any community of people there are people whom we regard as difficult, people with whom we would rather not work. I may dream of waving goodbye to them, and then I remember today’s Scripture.

During the Advent season, we often read a passage from Isaiah 64 that begins, “O, that you would tear open the heavens and come down.” As the saying goes, be careful what you ask for. Here in the baptism of Jesus from the Gospel of Mark, God does exactly that. The heavens are, in fact, torn open, and God’s Spirit descends, like a dove, to signify that God has come down to be with us in the person of Jesus Christ.

Whenever we celebrate baptism in the Christian church, we act out this scene over again. Oh, perhaps we cannot see it quite as clearly as Mark saw at Jesus’ baptism, but we, too, believe that God’s Spirit descends upon the one being baptized and God is now present with them as they are made part of the Body of Christ, the church. And the one being baptized will henceforth be numbered among the beloved of God – not just a member, not just another name on the rolls, not imply someone I have to put up with in my church work, but someone who is cherished and celebrated by the all-powerful master of the universe. That “difficult” person is God’s beloved just as much as I am, and God calls me to love them with love as strong as God’s love, not call them out or vilify them. Because they are now bearing God’s image and accompanied by God’s Spirit, I can no longer treat them as if they don’t matter to me. I may not like it, but I must love them.

In the language of our United Methodist liturgy, through baptism we are “incorporated into the household of God” and joined to others as God’s children. This God has expectations of how we will behave toward our brother and sisters. And when we fail, which we will, God expects us to acknowledge our sin, to repent and to seek God’s help in overcoming that sin. Because on the day that difficult person was baptized, the heavens were torn open, God’s Spirit descended, and a voice whispered “This is my beloved child with whom I am well pleased.”

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for making me a part of your family. There are times when it is difficult for me to accept some of my brothers and sisters as you have accepted me. Change my heart and help me to receive others as you have received me. Give me patience, give me a forbearing attitude. Let me see the people around me through your eyes, and love them with the same love you have offered them. Remind me often that you came to find me and love me when I was far from the image of your beloved, Jesus Christ, through whom I pray. Amen.

Justice at Christmastime

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And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Luke 1:46-55

Christmas is a time of peace and joy, as the angels sang, it is a time of good will toward all. So it is particularly jarring for many of us when the problems of the world intrude on our Christmas celebrations. We hear about demonstrations on the streets of Philadelphia and major cities across the country relating to the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO; we read about challenges to U.S. immigration policy; we are told that the economy is improving but most of us know people who are out of work. Are these “tidings of comfort and joy?”

The song of Mary, known as the Magnificat, reminds us that the first Christmas was not about making us feel good, but about God’s determination to turn the world upside-down. The proud will be brought low, the powerful pulled down, and the rich will be empty. The birth of Jesus didn’t mean vacation days and lots of presents, but God’s setting things right as God intended them to be, instituting justice and righteousness throughout the world. In the events of the first Christmas was contained the promise that the day was coming when if the rich did not make the world right, the poor would find sustenance in their God, and if those who had plenty did not share, then God would provide for the hungry and send the rest away. It was a promise of good news to the least, and an invitation to those with much to share and do right by the least, or find that God will scatter them in the thoughts of their hearts.

Christmas may be a time of joy and goodwill, but it is also a time to renew our commitment to do what God requires of humanity – to seek justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8). In this holiday, let us remember that Christmas without justice is an oxymoron. The best gift we can give to Jesus on his birthday is to reaffirm our determination to be people who care for the least of God’s children until the Messiah returns to care for them in person.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you came to bring hope for the hopeless and new life to those whose lives were dead, not only from sin but from the oppression of others. Help me this day to be sensitive to the needs of the world around me. Open my eyes to the places where your children suffer and yearn for release. Give me the determination to act, in whatever ways I can, to bring peace where there is conflict, hope where there is despair, and possibility where there are only dead ends. Let me be a conduit of new life, in imitation of your blessed coming so long ago. This is my birthday gift to you. Amen.

Lion Herder or Shepherd?

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See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.
              Isaiah 40:10-11

I recently saw a segment of 60 Minutes that introduced a man who rescued lions. He had once been part of the trade in illegal lions in Africa, making cute little lion cubs available to wealthy collectors. Once the lions grew to adulthood, however, the buyers want to get rid of them. The man saw these adult lions being put down, since they were unable to fend for themselves in the wild, and he was moved to begin a sanctuary for the lions The episode showed him wrestling and rolling in the dirt with the lions, playing with them apparently fearlessly. These animals that had the ability to tear him apart were gentle and fun-loving around him.

God comes to us with might, like a regal lion, able to tear apart his enemies to protect his own flock. It’s no accident C.S. Lewis used the lion Aslan to represent God in the Narnia books. And yet, this same mighty God gathers the lambs in his arms, carries them tenderly and gently leads the sheep. In the 60 Minutes episode, the reporting correspondent stayed at a distance from the animals, and even the lion owner admitted that he had to remain attentive to the mood of the animals, recognizing that both the power and the gentleness are part of the lion’s potential. In the same way, our God both has the power to overcome sin and death, and also the tender love of a parent for their child.

As we approach the celebration of Christmas, let us remember that the tiny baby in the manger, the cute little child that Mary and Joseph held in their arms, is also the God of the universe, the Word through whom all things came into being. We must be careful not to reduce our understanding of God to just the image of chubby baby cheeks and tiny fingers. God comes both in might and tenderness, with power and love. This is the wonder of our God.

Prayer: O Lord, our God, in tenderness and love you came to us, a child laid in a manger, a man who would give his life for us. But that tenderness was combined with a power beyond imagining, the power to defeat sin and death. Help me this day to remember that you are a God of of both power and love, of might and tenderness. Let me honor you in my life as you alone deserve, not just at Christmastime, but every day. Amen.