Psalm 22:19-23

“I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:” vs. 22

Many of us are reluctant to do much faith sharing with our friends…and we wouldn’t think of doing it with strangers. It could be our introverted personalities…or maybe we’ve been turned off by encounters with rabid evangelicals of one stripe or another. Whatever the reason we have trouble opening up our mouths and talking about Jesus on a personal level. Oh, sometimes we’ll talk about the historical Jesus…that’s pretty safe. But to talk about the Christ who dwells within seems risky. We don’t like to risk offending someone…or even worse, we don’t want to embarrass ourselves. The psalmist would be puzzled by our attitudes. He knew how important God was in his life and nothing was going to keep him from sharing his story with anyone who would listen. It really is sad how quiet we are about those things that are most important to our souls. Sometimes we don’t even share our stories with our own children! The consequences are far-reaching and long-lasting. When we keep silent, the truth that lies within every single one of us is lost forever. It’s not that we have to go door to door in our neighborhoods…but maybe sometime instead of talking about golf or the weather we could take a few minutes and share with friends those things that are closest to our hearts! The blessings would be enormous!

Thought for the Day: Who can I share my faith feelings with?

Isaiah 65:1-9

“I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name.” vs. 1

Long after the nobility of Judah had been hauled off into exile, the prophet recounts their complete rejection of the Lord. They had completely turned their backs on the God of their salvation. When prophets had come announcing the Lord’s presence no one had paid attention. The nation had prospered and no longer saw any need for a God-connection…they thought they could take care of themselves and spent their energies doing all the things that had been forbidden. Like foolish adolescents they wandered off on their own and laughed at those who called them back to righteousness. They deserved annihilation! But that’s not what they got! Even though they had rejected God, God did not reject them…and the prophet is amazed. Instead of destruction Judah received a blessing and the nation was preserved. These stories of our faith ancestors that have been preserved for our inspiration can seem primitive to our modern ears. But they contain at their core a remarkable insight about the nature of God. We do not have a God who is vindictive or murderous, not at all! The one who brought the Universe into existence is connected to us with a bond of love that cannot be broken. Even when we and our children wander away from the faith we continue to live within the boundaries of God’s prodigious light and life…and continue to be blessed!

Thought for the Day: Why do people continue to turn their backs on God?

John 16:15

“All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” vs. 15

According to John’s gospel Jesus told his disciples that he and the Father were one and that after Jesus left the earth, the Father would send the Spirit of Truth to be with the disciples. There is no doctrine spelled out in his words but within the next couple hundred years church leaders began to have conversations about how those three entities were related. Some of them found it helpful to use terms lifted from Greek philosophy to define what came to be known as the Trinity. That idea of a Trinitarian God now seems cumbersome and there are some who think we’d be better off with a less complex way of understanding divinity. What we’ve found however is that the Trinity has remarkable staying power, and as long as we don’t get too rigid in our definitions, it can be useful in understanding our God-experiences. We know that in the beginning the Creator used the divine Word to bring light into darkness and that the Spirit breathed life into the Universe. Those three, Creator, Word, and Spirit continue to be present with us in a never-ending dance through our entire lives. In them we experience the fullness of God even when we lack the words to describe it, and in the end, those experiences matter far more than our most theologically correct definitions!

Thought for the Day: What is the value of theological doctrines?

John 16:12-14

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” vs. 12

Some people believe that the canon of scripture is closed, that the books currently in the Testaments contain the totality of God’s Word for us. None can be taken out and none can be added. Others are not so sure. They hold that the notion of a closed canon is a human invention and was developed by religious leaders as a means of control. In their estimation any effort to stifle or limit God’s speech is pure foolishness. If they’re right God continued to speak long after the canon of scripture was established and is speaking to us in many and diverse ways even today. These words from Jesus in John’s gospel offer support to that conviction. He’s telling his disciples that the Spirit of Truth will come to them, and that through the Spirit they will hear his continued voice. New circumstances will bring new insights and wisdom from Jesus. Sometimes the words will come through books or sermons, and occasionally from deep within our own minds, that place where God chooses to dwell in every created being. It may even be that this inner voice is the most authentic word from God we will ever hear. We’ll know it’s coming from the Spirit of Truth when it resonates with Jesus’ commandment to love. Whatever passes that “Truth Test” is a new word from Jesus and deserves our careful attention.

Thought for the Day: What new word have I received from Jesus?

Romans 5:1-5

“and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” vs. 5

Paul is able to tell the Romans that people of faith can even boast in their sufferings, not because they are masochists, but because God’s love, the very presence of God, has been poured into their hearts. His insight has stood the test of time and today we know the truth of what he believed. The two things which, without fail, draw us closer to God and to one another are suffering and love. The second of these, love, is of course the most obvious. Most everyone knows that love is about connections, but suffering is less clear. Paul says it’s because suffering leads to endurance, and endurance produces hope, and hope connects us with the love of God. His argument could be seen as a bit of a stretch, but our experiences with suffering support what he says. There’s probably nothing that draws us closer to one another than shared suffering. It’s a time for the putting aside of the charade and pretense which usually govern our interactions. In our pain we allow people to come close and hugs replace words as the primary means of communication. In the embraces love abounds, God brings healing, and hope is restored. The progression from suffering to love may not be as smooth as Paul implies, but it does happen. It’s one of the major benefits of our life together in Christ!

Thought for the Day: Where have I seen the connection between suffering and love?

Psalm 8:5-9

“Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet…” vss. 5-6

The ancient Hebrews believed that, in spite of their universal insignificance, God had given humans dominion over all things that lived on the earth. We can certainly understand the logic of their reasoning…at least on earth humans do have a dominant position. We are a powerful species…especially in the wake of the meteor that wiped out the dinosaurs. But sad to say we’ve not always done well by the earth and its other inhabitants. In fact, the more dominant we’ve become the tougher it’s been for the rest of God’s creation. Countless species of plant and animal life have gone extinct during our tenure as stewards. Instead of taking care of the earth we’ve been more inclined to extract and exploit its resources with little regard for the environment. Even now, as the effects of climate change become more noticeable, we’re remarkably reluctant to take any actions that might impact economic development. But not all of us! Some people are taking seriously their divine calling to care for the earth and are doing everything they can to clean the oceans and preserve our forests. And they are making a difference…in spite of our insidious desires for profit and gain at any cost. How good it would be if their efforts became the rule and not the exception!

Thought for the Day: What am doing to care for the earth?

Psalm 8:1-4

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” vss. 3-4

If we’ve taken any time at all to reflect on our place in space and in time we will likely resonate with what the psalmist has said. We live on a tiny blue planet in the Milky Way galaxy, one of about 10 billion in the observable universe, and we’re revolving around a sun that is one of a billion trillion stars. From that perspective it’s hard to imagine that we have any significance at all. Still, even in the face of such evidence, we humans are impudent enough to claim that we have a unique relationship to the Divine Presence and that we are cared for in a special way. There are some who question that assertion…in their minds the Universe would be just fine without us, that in fact it might be better off. But others believe that we humans do have significance, that we bring awareness to creation and without us there would be no audience, no one to clap hands and offer praise and thanksgiving for the wonder of it all. If that is indeed our purpose we have a divine calling to show deep appreciation each day for the gift of life, for the blessings of our material and spiritual existence. The birds and beasts do it…and so should we!

Thought for the Day: With what song do I greet the morning?

Proverbs 8:22-31

“then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race.” vss. 30-31

According to this section of Proverbs Wisdom was the Father’s partner in the creation of the universe and produced an earth that was finely tuned and carefully ordered. Obviously the writer had deep respect for the intricacy and connectedness of the created world. It’s a feeling that many of us share. Regardless of our varying views of origins wherever we look we’re amazed at the way things fit together. There’s an interdependence that leaves us slack-jawed at its magnificence and wonder. In order for plants and animals to even exist there are hundreds of factors that need to be in perfect coordination. Some would say that the design is impossible apart from the Divine Presence…that this simply can’t be the result of a series of coincidences, that the beauty of a sunset can’t possibly be accidental. According to Proverbs Wisdom took great delight in the creation and rejoiced particularly in the human race. Some of us wonder now if her exultation might have been premature…that humans, who were intended to be the crown of creation, may turn out to be its greatest enemies and the agents of massive destruction. Perhaps Wisdom will hear the prayers of the concerned and lead us to embrace wisdom rather than foolishness in our care of the earth!

Thought for the Day: How is economic gain related to the care of the earth?

Proverbs 8:1-4

“Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;” vss. 1-2

It’s possible to accumulate massive amounts of knowledge in the course of a lifetime and yet run a huge deficit when it comes to wisdom. Many of us have acquaintances who are a perfect match for that description…they can have multiple degrees but not an ounce of common sense. So where does wisdom come from? The writer of this section of Proverbs indicates that wisdom is contained in the essence of God…later believers associated wisdom with the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. The word for wisdom, chokmah in the Hebrew and sophia in the Greek, is a feminine noun, and is most often personified as a woman. Biblically, the origin of Wisdom is prior to creation and is an integral part of the whole creative process. Not only was she present in the beginning but she has continued to make her presence felt through all of history, warning humans against foolishness and foolhardy behavior in all of its forms. Given our experience with Wisdom through the centuries some have concluded that there is good reason for her association with the feminine. Might it be, they say, that women are more likely to show forth the Wisdom of the universe than are men? Of course we know that many men are wise…but maybe women have an innate connection, one that we’d be foolish to ignore!

Thought for the Day: Wise women I have known!

John 14:15-19

“In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live.” vs. 19

The man, Jesus of Nazareth, did not have a long life. Hostile powers conspired to torture and kill him while he was by our standards a young man. But death could not contain him, and his followers soon reported his continuing presence. “He’s alive,” they proclaimed to all who would listen…and spurred on by the power of his Spirit they went with the good news throughout the world. And that’s not the end of the story. Jesus the Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, is visible in our world today. Though his presence is obscured for many by the powers of darkness he can be seen wherever loving is the order of the day. He is alive; indeed he is the vital source of life for countless persons all over the world. His followers continue to walk in his ways, standing with the poor and oppressed, bringing hope and comfort to all who despair. The Church is not just another do-gooder organization, it is the living and breathing presence of the Christ for the world today. The world may not know him or see him, but it is profoundly affected by the power of his Spirit and his unquenchable love. Jesus didn’t have a long life but his influence will last until the close of the age. Thus proclaims the Spirit of Truth!

Thought for the Day: What does Pentecost mean for me?