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Which Son? (March 14) 2010-03-09 by Winola Green Submit a Question | Submit an Article All the times I have read or heard the story of the Prodigal Son, I usually identify more with him than his older brother. And I have always come to the same conclusion, that what a waste of his life being separated from the blessings of God. To experience life as he did wondering off, means he missed so much love, compassion, and faith that God gives to us freely. I could easily return. But with this reading, I was struck with the fact that I have been like the elder son more times in my life. I have experienced times of resentment and anger and have found each time that I could not see the light by myself. In fact I still experience some memories of those times and wonder how do I completely respond to God's love and forgiveness. I pray for the ability to forgive those with whom I have felt such anger. That feeling comes and goes. I know that it is only God who calls me back as I am unable to return by myself. Speak words of truth and wisdom to me. Help me with my long standing identity with the elder child. All Who Hunger and Thirst (Mar 7) 2010-03-02 by Tim Norton Submit a Question | Submit an Article At first reading I was struck by how similar the Isaiah passage compares to the invitation we often hear as we begin the sacrament of Holy Communion. Centuries before God would send his son into the world, he reaches out to a people who have turned away from him time and time again; and reveals to us the depth of his love for his children in that though we continue to sin against God, he continues to reach out to us in constantly changing ways, that we might choose to return to him. The promise of his forgiveness and the strength of his faithfulness and patience toward an often unforgiving and faithless people is so overwhelming to consider when we see our own state of hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Yet, eternally, there is the invitation: You who are thirsty, come to the waters; hungry, come and eat. No charge, no strings attached. Then God reiterates his everlasting covenant, which we continue to break, but in which he makes promises to David’s people – promises which he continues to honor in the gift of his son, the descendant of David. To honor that covenant, God eventually offers his own son, his body and his blood, for our spiritual food and drink. Truly, nations “who do not know him have run to him”, for he has been “glorified by the Holy One of Israel.” And there is the call to repent, but there is also the promise of mercy and forgiveness. To see how much David himself valued the faithfulness of the Lord, we have only to read the psalm for today, Psalm 63, a psalm of David when he was in the wilderness. How abundantly clear it is that “as far as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God’s ways higher than our ways, his thoughts than our thoughts.”Created Human – Divinely Blessed (February 28) 2010-02-24 by Mark Miller Submit a Question | Submit an Article The Gospel of Luke is filled with all kinds of stories of healing and miracles performed by Jesus. This particular passage, however, seems to gloss over that fact as Jesus has a singular focus now, to head towards Jerusalem and the Cross. It would be an understatement to say the words spoken to the Pharisees are pointed and forceful. Usually when Jesus says, “Listen,” He means it. In the passage it is clear His resolve to fulfill what He has been called to do will not diminish. Jesus tells the Pharisees to ‘go and tell’ Herod that today is not the day, and that ‘I must be on my way’. ‘The Way’ Jesus describes offers a path that will lead the disciples, future generations and even us today on a blessed journey with Him. My first reaction to this invitation to follow Jesus on this journey is to prepare myself to do great and wonderful things for God. It isn’t long after that I come to the conclusion God doesn’t need me for that. Unfortunately, that train of thought tends to lead me down the path of least resistance. It lets me off the hook and gives me the opportunity to make excuses. Another word for that is sin. The bible is full of stories with excuses. In just a few verses, we will hear another one, the parable of the great supper (Luke 14:15–24). I think this one could also be called the parable of the great excuses. Those stories are there for a reason, teaching me something about my human nature, and the realization that Jesus’ faith doesn’t allow for any excuses, and He doesn’t offer up any either. So what then does God think when I stray off the path? What does God think of my excuses? When I am not willing, does Jesus’ lament for me the same way He did for Jerusalem? When I’m not willing, does Jesus move on to someone who is? Will I see him when the time comes? These are tough questions to ponder, but good questions for me this Lenten season. Dealing with these questions is complicated by the fact I’m distracted and sometimes paralyzed by the world I live in. My human condition, with all its faults, gets in the way. In the midst of all these distractions, I lose sight of the fact that as part of His creation, God, more than anyone else, understands my humanity. In her latest book, “An Altar in the World,” pastor and author Barbara Brown Taylor writes about her spirituality from this human perspective. She explores her human condition in a series of what she calls ‘practices’ or ordinary aspects of her life here on earth. She discovers God is most certainly present within these practices or events in her life, and more importantly, that God wants to be present there. During this Lenten season, my hope and my prayer is I will be more aware of the presence of God in the everyday events of my life, letting Him lead me beyond my excuses to faithful service. Maybe I will learn the answers to my questions aren’t as important as allowing God’s presence to ascend from my mind to my heart or discovering I can still be amazed by God. Maybe I will learn my life on earth is not so much about what I do, but was done for me by a savior whose passion allows me to be both human and divinely blessed, and more importantly, that my excuses are forgiven. Citizenship of Heaven (Feb 28) 2010-02-23 by Tim Norton Submit a Question | Submit an Article One can see the sadness Jesus feels for what he is about to do. His lament over Jerusalem strikes a resonant chord with us in a period of atonement as is this season of Lent. He alone understands the weighty meaning of the prophecy about the Son of Man that he has been trying, unsuccessfully, to convey to his disciples up to this point. Truly, Christ’s passion begins well before Holy Week, as he contemplates entering the city that is destined to betray him and kill him. Don’t you just know he would have loved to embrace the people of the city and gather them to himself, as he laments here? Jerusalem, the seat of Judaism, the home of the temple. But there is more work to do, and Jerusalem will have to tend to itself for now. I wonder, too, about the concept of a homeland, a promised land, as in the Genesis passage. To Abram’s descendants God promises a huge piece of land – from the Nile to the Euphrates is virtually all of the modern Middle East. Our history since that time has been conflict after conflict to see who will possess and settle that land. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul insists that our citizenship is in heaven, and that we should not set our mind on earthly things – much the same advice Jesus gives his disciples throughout his ministry. “Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also” – Martin Luther’s lyrics hauntingly remind me that God’s kingdom is not of this earth; and that if I focus on the temporal, I may miss the eternal. Too Many Negatives (February 28) 2010-02-22 by Peggy Dillner Submit a Question | Submit an Article I'm reading these having come away from a weekend heated discussion with an aetheist family member. How would he possibly find anything in these three scripture readings that would do anything to persuade him that there is a supreme being worth worshipping? The first, a Genesis reading has Abram speaking of his slave heir (just a little bit of a problem with this, all feminists!) plus all the animal sacrifices. (All a very primitive response saith my aethiest family member). OK. We move into the NT and look at Paul's letter to the Philippians. This is not exactly an ecumenical text. How can I honestly deal with this text with honorable, moral friends who happen to be Jewish? "Their end is destruction." The God I prefer to allude to as my Ultimate Being would not cast them aside. So what am I to do with this text? Now we come to the gospel reading. The poor city of Jeruselum! "the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!" How depressing. We have entered the Christian season of Lent, so I do understand that we are to be self-reflective, introspective, and possibly confessing. A pastor needs to help me see the positive in these scriptures. As alluded to initially, I've just spent considerable time advocating for a Christian perspective on life to a family member. Then I read thse three lectionary readings and thought, "Ah ha! It's no wonder I have three non-church-attending adult children!" This is a significant challenge to preachers who wish to bring in new members who are connected to the technological world and can find subtance in these ancient flat-world words. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 [Next] [Last Page] Login - (This login is for administrators and bloggers. Usernames and passwords for GoodPreacher subscribers will not work here.) |
