devotional

Memories

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“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ”
Luke 2:19
Yesterday I woke up with a tune running through my head. Over and over I found myself humming a tune that seemed to come from nowhere. Suddenly, after about an hour, I realized what the tune was – a song I learned in 5th grade at Girl Scout summer camp! It had been buried in my memory and for some reason just popped into my head as I woke up. I realized I could sing the song all the way through – all the words – and as I did, I remembered the camp experience, the lake where we canoed, the platform tents where we lived. All of that came back to me as I sang through the camp song.

I wonder if Mary had a tune to him or sing as she remembered that first Christmas. Maybe she had a lullaby she sang to the baby Jesus, or a traveling song she’d hummed as they fled Bethlehem for Egypt. However she made connections, she had a lifetime of memories treasured in her mind. There were memories of the shepherds crowding into the stable on the night of his birth, Jesus hitting his thumb with his hammer as Joseph taught him carpentry, of her son’s Bar Mitzvah, of girls flirting with him in the village, and of that trip to Jerusalem when Jesus got left behind. So many memories to cherish, so many ways to perceive God at work in her life, in Jesus’ life, and in the world.

As we begin our new year, I invite you to take a moment to recall the joys of 2015, the places where you saw God at work in your life, at Grove, and in the world. Pause to give thanks tonight as the ball in Times Square descends. Commit 2015 to God with thanks for what has gone well and with repentance for where we have failed the Lord. And then seek God’s presence in your life right from the beginning of 2016. Let this be a year for all of us to treasure and ponder in our hearts.

Prayer: Loving God, as we come to the end of this year, I thank you for all the ways you gave been active in my life. I am grateful for the ways you have enabled me to make a positive difference in the world. And where I have failed you, I pray that you will take my feeble efforts and transform them so that you might yet be glorified. Let 2016 be a year in which I am attuned to your presence, and ready to do your will for the good of your people and the glory of your kingdom, for I ask this in Christ’s holy name. Amen.

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The Light of Christ

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“What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
John 1:3b-5
A 7-year old child was drawing a picture of the Nativity. The picture was very good, including Mary, Joseph and, of course, baby Jesus. However, there was a fat man standing in the corner of the stable, that just did not seem to fit in. When the child was asked about it, she replied, “Oh, That’s Round John Virgin.”

On Christmas Eve we’ll join our voices to sing “Round yon virgin mother and child” as we hold our candles high. The light of the candles will begin as only a few points of light in the darkened sanctuary. From just the light of the Advent and Christ candles, the light will spread across the room from hand to hand until the room is alight. The candle light will fill the room, allowing us to read the words of the hymn and see one another’s faces. That light will be enough for us.

A young mother, a child born in a stable, a rag-tag group of sheepherders…not the beginning that we would expect for the Son of God. A small beginning, not too different form the light of one candle, but a light and a beginning that cannot be overcome by the darkness that threatens it. As the faith is passed from person to person, just as the light is passed from hand to hand, the darkness recedes. We might not have total light in the world anymore than the we will have total light in the sanctuary, but just as the candle light is enough for us to see one another, the light of Christ is enough for us to see each other in the world, to recognize and care for fellow children of God. The light of Christ promises life, grace and a new future for all who believe.

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light,
Radiant beams from thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

May the light of Christ fill your life this Christmas, and may you pass it on, hand to hand, person to person, until the world is alight with the grace of Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Broken Hearts at Christmas

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“When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

 ‘A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.'”
                                                                                         Matthew 2:16-18
Wednesday night many of us were glued to our television sets watching events unfold in San Bernadino, California.  We learned to our horror that multiple shooters had opened fire in a reception hall hosting a holiday party. We followed the developments as police chased a dark SUV and as shots were fired killing the two occupants of the car.  We watched as police went door to door looking for other assailants, and as commentators spoke by phone to terrified residents barricaded in their homes.
This morning we still have many questions – was this a terror act, a disgruntled employee, or some combination of the two? Why did the perpetrators leave the site of the initial shooting after a relatively short shooting spree, and why didn’t they leave the area to escape police?  We may never know the answers to all of our questions, but all of us should feel our hearts breaking for the families of those who were killed, for those who were injured, and for the bereft family of the couple who appear to have carried out this shooting.
On Thursday morning, the New York Daily News ran a large headline reading, “God Isn’t Fixing This!”  Earlier our president made a statement we all need to hear, regardless of your stance on his policies, when he pointed out that saying that our prayers and thoughts are with people is meaningless if we don’t do anything to help. I don’t know what the answers are to these horrifying mass shootings, but it is time that we do more than simply wring our hands and say isn’t that terrible.  It is time to do more than pray for the victims and think about the injured.  It is time for us as a nation rise up and tell politicians and the NRA that we won’t stand any longer for their platitudes.  The majority of NRA members favor tighter gun controls, but the NRA hierarchy won’t give an inch, sure that it will result in a slippery slope.  Politicians who are funded by significant NRA donations dare not vote for gun control.  We cannot, however, as people of faith, simply stand by and let this ‘do nothing’ response continue as it has after Sandy Hook, after Columbine, after Virginia Tech and on and on.
We may not be able to prevent every gun death, but surely there are things we can do that will decrease the number who die by gun violence.  Whether mandatory background checks or refusal of guns to people on terror watch lists which Congress refused to pass this week, whether reducing the size of legal gun clips or creating smart guns that are sensitive to fingerprints, there are options that will lead to fewer gun deaths, including the 2/3 of gun deaths that are suicides.
We often forget that the Scripture cited above is one of the readings for the Sunday after Christmas.  When we think of the holiday, we think of holly jolly Christmas, tinsel and presents, cookies and egg nog.  But at the heart of Christmas is the broken heart of God, a heart that ached on Wednesday night.  Christmas is the affirmation that Emmanuel has come, God With Us, in Jesus Christ.  Through him, God has experienced not only the joys of human life, but also the pains and sadness.  And yet, even amidst the incredible pain of the death of Jesus, God remained faithful and acted to save.
As we approach this Christmas, let’s give thanks for a God who cared enough to be with us fully, to live our human life, but who calls us to be more – to act for those who cannot act for themselves, to imitate the gracious action of the divine creator, and to be about the work of God today, not just praying empty words but acting as the instruments of God’s saving love..
Prayer: O God, our joyful approach to the celebration of Christ’s birth was jarred by the tragic news of this mass shooting.  I wonder how such sadness could enter into the season of light.  And yet I know, Lord, it was precisely to this world of darkness that Jesus came to bring hope and love. Let the light of Christ shine in me, through my actions and my words, as I work to bring hope and love into the darkness in your name.  Amen.
 

Flash Floods and Life’s Challenges

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“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
                    Psalm 19:14
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It rained yesterday; in fact, it poured.  The entire Philadelphia area was under a flash flood warning.  As I drove down route 202 in the early evening, I saw just how much it had rained. The traffic usually backs up around Route 29 in the evening rush hour, but last night, we were at a standstill in front of the Gateway Shopping Center in Wayne.  We crawled along and then had to converge from 3 lanes into 1 because of the water that had collected across two lanes of the highway near Chesterbrook.  A few brave souls drove through the lake in the middle lane, but no one braved the far right lane where the water had collected over a foot deep against the sound wall.

For those of us driving, this was just an inconvenience, but flash floods are nothing to minimize.  I was reading recently that a flash flood with just six inches of mud and water can carry a car away.  It doesn’t take a tsunami size wave to endanger life – just six inches of muddy water moving swiftly.  We think, “oh, it’s just a little water,” and then, bam!  The little stream sweeps our car off the road.
Isn’t life like that, sometimes?  We think, “oh, I can get through this,” and then, bam!  We get swept away by the life equivalent of six inches of muddy water.   We need an anchor in the face of the flash floods of life; we need a rock to steady us and provide us safety when the muddy waters rush by.
“O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”  When things are going well, it’s all too easy to forget about God, but when our life is in shambles, when the flash floods of health concerns or job loss or relationship issues strike, we need someone to be our rock and redeemer.  I was able to avoid the deep water on the roadway, but in life we can’t always avoid the flash floods.  They can strike without warning and sweep us away.  But God will be our rock if we seek the Lord and anchor our lives on God’s steadfast love.  Our faith community is an extension of that love, providing us with tangible signs of God’s love and care in times of need.
But we need to find that anchor before the storms strike, we need to develop our relationship with God when the sun is shining in order to be prepared for the flash floods that may come.  Developing our relationship with God is something we can all do through spending time in God’s Word, Bible study, prayer and ministry.  When we do that, when we have taken time to get to know God as the one who loves us, then we can be assured that no matter what life throws at us, God will remain with us as our rock in this life and our redeemer for all eternity.
 
Prayer:   Loving God, help me to put my trust in you.  Let me grow closer to you in the good times so that I will recognize your loving care in the flash floods of life.  Be my rock; anchor my life in your love and law so that nothing can sweep me away from your presence.  Amen.
 

Stairway to Nowhere?

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“Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.'”
                                                                                                Acts 2:38-39

My husband and I just returned from wonderful road trip to St. Louis and Chicago. We drove out the PA Turnpike to Pittsburgh and then turned south to head for St. Louis. Coming home from Chicago, we came across the northern route, following Route 80 to Cleveland where I found the house I lived in between ages 4 and 9, and then continued on Route 80 till it met the PA Turnpike at the edge of the state.

Out near the Breezewood exit of the PA Turnpike, there is a curious place that has always fascinated me. On the eastbound side of the turnpike, sitting on the land overlooking the turnpike, is a church. Across the way, on the westbound side of the turnpike, is a cement staircase leading from the turnpike up to the road above that crosses over the turnpike. Next to the staircase, at the side of the turnpike, is a sign that announces the church and its mass schedule.

I’ve always wondered about that staircase. The sign and staircase appear suddenly, just beyond the bridge abutment for the road that runs over the turnpike. At 65 miles an hour, the sign and stairway are there and gone alost before you realize it. And if you did want to stop, there is no safe pull-off area to park your car, just the regular little shoulder section of road. The sign certainly lets you know the church is there, but is a stairway with no safe parking area really an invitation that means anything to a traveler? Is a stairway with no advance warning likely to attract anyone to come and draw closer to God?

As I thought about that stairway, I wondered about our evangelism efforts in the church. Do we offer Christ to the world in a way that others can actually take advntage of, or do we simply go through the motions of evangelism, putting signs where no one can act on them, claiming we’ve provided access to God for the unchurched but actually building stairways that no one in their right mind would use? Are we connecting with the world in meaningful ways that enable people to come and see, or are we sitting back in our stained glass towers content to offer Christ in ways that will not connect with the people around us?

Jesus commanded his disciples to “Go into the world, baptizing and teaching.” Some may be more skilled at evangelism than others, but all of us are called to share Christ in some way, whether through an invitation to an ice cream fest, sharing about the church we love, or accompnying a friend to worship for the first time. Don’t let your efforts be limited to signs that pass by too quickly or stairways that can’t be used. Let’s all work together to create meaningful ways for people to experience Christ and find in him the answer to their prayers.
Prayer: Gracious God, you have welcomed me into the kingdom of your love, and asked me to extend that invitation to others. Help me to create meaningful ways for others to hear of your love and to take advantage of your invitation to discover purpose, community and saving grace through faith in Jesus Christ, your Son. Amen.

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Ordinary People

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“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
                                   Acts 4:13
The new “Mission Impossible” film opens nationwide today. It looks like a real nail-biter. The trailer for the film depicts Tom Cruise hanging on to the outside of an airplane as it takes off, and that’s just in the opening moments of the film. It’s pretty clear, this will be no ordinary day in the life of an ordinary man. Tom Cruise’s character is extraordinary.

Watching movies like that can leave us with an inferiority complex. I know I could never hang on to an airplane as it took off nor do most of the things Cruise has done in the Mission Impossible series. I’m just an ordinary woman, condemned to watch as others do extraordinary things. But then I read the book of Acts, and I see very ordinary men, Peter and John, Stephen and Philip, men who showed no sign of being anything out of the ordinary, suddenly accomplish great works for the kingdom of God. They do it, not because they are extraordinary human beings, but because the extraordinary power of God fills them and empowers them.

This is the story of our God. From Moses to Gideon to the twelve disciples, God has selected the ordinary and achieved world-changing purposes through them. Each one of us has the ability to do the same. Not because we are extraordinary, not because we can hang on airplanes or leap tall buildings in a single bound, but because we can open our hearts and minds to the presence of God. When we invite God into our life, when we offer God a willing and humble heart, we open the door to the possibility that God will work through us to accomplish God’s great work of redemption. We offer God the opportunity to take someone absolutely ordinary and accomplish the extraordinary.
So enjoy movies about amazing characters, and then open your heart and mind to discern what God might want to accomplish through you. Not because you’re the next Tom Cruise or Angelina Jolie, but because God has work to be done and is willing to accomplish God’s purposes through ordinary people like you and me.

Prayer: Almighty God, take my will and let it reflect your will. Take my heart and mold it to want what you want. Use me today to accomplish your purpose in the world. Let me always be aware of your presence empowering and directing me, so that I may be part of the great work of your kingdom with humility and love. Amen.

 

Laughing with Jesus

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“A person’s attire and hearty laughter,

                         and the way he walks, show what he is.”

                                                          Sirach 19:30

      “A pastor, a priest and a rabbi walk into a bar…”  How many times have you heard some variation of that?  And you knew what was coming next.  Oh, maybe not the exact words, but you knew that a joke was coming, and you listened with an expectation of laughter and fun around the corner.

     Today, July 24th, is National Old Joke Day.  Take a moment to share a joke with a friend or neighbor.  Laugh with a family member. Laughing, reports WebMD, changes us physiologically: “We stretch muscles throughout our face and body, our pulse and blood pressure go up, and we breathe faster, sending more oxygen to our  tissues.”  (http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/give-your-body-boost-with-laughter)

     I believe Jesus loved to laugh.  If you look at the stories of his life, he’s always eating out with people.  From Pharisees to sinners, Jesus loved to belly-up to the table and break bread. I can’t imagine his doing that without letting out a good belly laugh at some point.  Whether as host or guest (or meal!), Jesus came eating and drinking and, I think, laughing.

     So in the midst of all of our serious study of Scripture and commitment to prayer, let’s take time to gather at the table with friends.  Remember that God’s first act was one of delight and pleasure – to create a world that would bring delight to the Lord.  Let’s be intentional about creating special celebrations, laughing together, rejoicing in each other’s presence, and giving thanks to God for the delight of this day. Then, before you clear the table, turn to your neighbor and ask them if they’ve heard the one about the pastor, the priest and the rabbi.

Prayer:   God of laughter and joy, who made us for your pleasure and delight, I pray that my life will bring a smile to your face rather than a frown.  Help me to approach the world with the same delight and joy with which you made it, and to rejoice at the wonder of your love in my life as you rejoice at my love for you.  Amen. 

 

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

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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