Monday, March 26, 2007
John
8:1-11
Jesus
went unto the
In
this passage, as frequently was the case, the scribes & Pharisees were
hoping to set a trap for Jesus by their presentation of a difficult question.
They thought they had set the agenda by presenting the case of the woman who
they claimed had been “taken in adultery, in the very act” and then offering
two options—each unacceptable. Jesus could condemn the woman to death by
stoning or declare that the Law of Moses should be broken.
How
would any one of us respond if confronted as Jesus was? We might argue the case
to be out of our jurisdiction. We might inquire about the strength of the
evidence—could the indictment of guilt be sufficiently supported? We might
inquire about equal justice before the law—where was the man who was involved
in the alleged adultery and was the woman forced against her will? I am certain
that we would have thought that the punishment of death by stoning was far too
punitive even if we agreed that adultery constituted a serious offense. At the
very least we would have suggested mercy and a lesser punishment.
Jesus
responded in none of these ways. He refused to follow the narrow agenda set by
those seeking to embarrass him and discredit his teachings. Instead of being
drawn into a discussion of the fine points of the law or its proper
administration, he used the incident to challenge the accusers to examine their
own lives. By declaring, He that is
without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her, Jesus implicitly
forced them to invoke a simple but effective measure of equal justice to “place
themselves in the shoes of the accused” and to consider the verdict from that
perspective.
But
perhaps even more central to the Gospel message is the account of the
interaction of Jesus with the woman after the accusers, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one. Jesus
chose not to look towards the past, he chose not to condemn the woman, not even
to inquire about her guilt. By commanding her to go, and sin no more, he was not dismissing as unimportant any sins
the woman might have committed; he was invoking the power of forgiveness that
gives us the freedom to live for the future, nurtured by God’s love.
Dear God, help each of us to heed the
command of Jesus to go, and sin no more, to look toward the future always
thankful for forgiveness and mindful of God’s love. Amen.
Tuesday, March 27,
2007
Hebrews
10:25
And
let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one
another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
So what’s the point?
We have lots and lots of meetings, lots of things to do, places to go, people
to see. Is the writer of this text simply reminding us that it’s fun to be in
the presence of friends and life is better together than alone? In a world
where for many of us time is a valuable commodity, is there a relevant message
in this passage for us beyond the obvious warm-fuzziness of sociability? I
believe there is, especially if we look into the context of the verse.
First let me note that there’s a
gift of grace in being with friends and those we love. For some people, that
gift is rare. So we should be grateful for the opportunities to spend time with
significant people in our lives. But this verse also points us to yet another
truth. It is the challenge to “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess…” (vs.
23). This is our reason for meeting together, and a reminder of who we are as
the Church.
The hope we profess is that God
loved the entire world, all the people of every country, race, time, gender,
culture, sexual orientation, size, shape and form, so much that God sent Jesus
to offer God’s loving grace to all who will receive it. In Biblical times,
government and religious forces attempted to suppress hope, and faith was
difficult. Today, loud voices try to silence the message and remove that hope
from us. Those with power and influence set standards that many accept as
“requirements” for God’s love to affect us.
Meet together to encourage one
another not to let that happen! Meet together to encourage one another to be
even more intent on acts of love and good deeds. Make the witness loud and
clear that we will not be dissuaded by those who would deny us our hope in
God’s love brought most clearly to the world by Jesus Christ our Lord and
Savior. Hold unswervingly to the Hope!
Most Holy and Loving God, as we move through these days of
Lent, blow the refreshing winds of your Spirit into our hearts and minds so
that we may be refilled with our hope, Your hope, the hope of the world! May
our meeting together bring us together with that blessed renewal.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Galatians
6:10
Therefore,
whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to
those in the family of faith.
In his missionary
journeys, Paul's successful preaching resulted in the establishment of several
churches in Galatia, in what is today south-central Turkey. Word had come to
him that other missionaries had since arrived in Galatia and were teaching the
new Gentile converts (the term Christians or Christianity had not yet been
coined) that if they truly accepted that Jesus was the Messiah and were
committed to following him, they should become more pure by following Jewish
ritual laws.
Paul was furious with
these missionaries, calling them "agitators" or "those who are
throwing you into confusion." In this letter to the Galatians, Paul
counters their attempts to place the people under Jewish Law, more things they need to do to be saved, arguing that
"people are not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus
Christ."
Being a follower of
Christ does not mean we are given a new set of rules; rather, we are given
freedom. Jesus frees us so that we may worship and glorify him. And we honor
him by loving our neighbor and by bearing each other's burdens. Paul
understands that bearing burdens and "doing good" can be a tiring and
thankless assignment.
Why is it that we
"become weary in doing good?" If we place our faith in Christ won't
he give us the strength to keep going? Of course he will; but he gives us
something even more important – he gives us brothers and sisters in Christ. He
places us in a "family of believers. We become weary when we try to do too
much alone. It is by loving each other and by shouldering each other's burdens
together that we find strength. God has created us to be in community; through
the Holy Spirit we are in unity with our Creator and Savior. Paul calls us to
also be in community with our neighbors. As we the Church pray for and support
one another we will be strengthened, so that we can then help others outside
the church, those who need to hear the message of the good news.
Lord Jesus, we thank you for freeing us from the burdens of
legalism. Open our eyes to the opportunities you place before us to support one
another within our church family. Make us beacons of light in a hurting world;
that others may see your love & grace in our faith community and want to
come to know you. Amen.
Thursday,
March 29, 2007
Acts
6:4
But
we will continue steadfastly in prayer, and in the ministry of the word.
Steadfast does not usually equal fun. It usually
means we have to work hard at something for a sustained period of time – that
we have struggle to stay focused on the task at hand. Steadfast is hard.
Prayer seems to be a difficult thing to be
steadfast about for many people. Maybe it is because of busy schedules – we
need to be DOING something or we are wasting time. Maybe it is fear of intimacy
with God or even with our selves. Maybe it is a sense of unworthiness or fear.
Maybe we are afraid of not doing it right. Maybe it is because we do not know
how to pray in a way that is meaningful to us – that connects us to God.
Whatever the reason, we need discipline to
maintain an active, ongoing prayer life. Devotionals like this one help provide
the structure and motivation to pray and reflect on a daily basis. Another way
to help ourselves be steadfast in prayer is to covenant with someone to pray
for each other. The promise you make to that person gives you more motivation.
Joining a prayer group may help us to pray more regularly. Praying with your
family or friends before meals or before bed helps us. Praying, even briefly,
at meetings or social events helps transform the nature of that gathering. But
the most important thing is to begin to be in touch with our yearning to know
God and feel God’s love.
In some moments of prayer, we may feel a deep
and close connection to God. In others, we may feel like we are reaching out
blindly in the darkness, yearning for the grace that we believe in and hope for
but do not feel in that moment. God is our source and we seem to
have an innate yearning to be connected to that source. That
yearning is why we continue to pray – why we find the motivation to pray.
Prayer does not have to be boring. It does not
have to be scary. It does not have to be quiet, It does not have to be long. It
does not have to be lonely. We don’t have to bring ourselves to God in fear and
trembling. If we develop our prayer life based on that yearning to be connected
rather than out of a sense of duty, prayer becomes a hopeful and even joyful
experience of relationship with the God of love and peace who is with us always
and who has loved us from the beginning.
Our
God, who Jesus called ‘Abba’ or ‘Daddy’, we know that you love us as much as
the most wonderful father or mother loves his or her child. This knowledge
fills us with joy! May we encounter you in our prayer life, not bowed down on
our face in fear and trembling, and not formally as we would give honor to a
ruler, but rather in a joyful embrace of a parent and child. May we learn to
accept your love and open our hearts to you so that our prayer life becomes our
special time of connectedness with you.
Friday,
March 30, 2007
Luke 11:27-28
THOSE WHO ARE BLESSED
"As
Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed
is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." He replied,
"Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."
Finding this passage
puzzling, I turned to my "Life Application Study Bible" which
provided the following helpful notes:
Jesus was speaking to people who put an
extremely high value on family ties. Their genealogies were important
guarantees that they were part of God's chosen people. A man's value came from
his ancestors, and a woman's value came from the sons she bore. Jesus response
to the woman meant that a person's obedience to God is more important than his
or her place on the family tree. The patient work of consistent obedience is
even more important than the honor of being a respected person.
According to this interpretation, Jesus’ remark
challenges the status quo with a new order that emphasizes the individual over
genealogy. In our relationship to God we can be self made, so to speak.
Particularly for women, whose value came from the sons she bore, this is
liberating.
This
valuing of the individual, regardless of status, is something that our
congregation aspires to.
“The First United Methodist Church of
Pittsburgh affirms that God's grace is available to all. We prayerfully seek to
openly welcome all of God's children regardless of Christian perspective,
education, economic conditions, race, gender, national origin, physical or
mental abilities, sexual orientation, age, or marital status. We commit
ourselves to be in ministry for and with all persons, independent of society's
regard.”
Dear God, please help me to remember and strive for this
ideal. Amen
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Ezra
10:4
Get
up, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting things straight.
We are behind you, so be strong and take action.”
All through my life
these words have rung true for me. My grandparents and parents introduced me to
the strength I would find in the Lord. I was raised to believe in the Lord and
stand up always with His light as my true guide. Having lost all of these
important people in my life by the time I was eighteen years old, I felt it my
duty to carry on their legacy and knew they were behind me always to be strong.
Through adulthood time
and time again I would be a forerunner in standing up and setting things
straight in my family and work place. Then I took on a job as peacemaker. In
law enforcement I find it necessary to help those who come looking for an
answer. I have been trained by the Municipal Education and Training Commission
of Pennsylvania to follow guidelines to aid our citizens, but my training
happened during all those years of looking to our Lord and Savior and asking
his guidance. His training has prepared me to look at each individual
situation, pray, and take action. I know that being a Christian on this job is
an important responsibility. Depending on God and following his words and
truths leads to justice and equity for all.
I thank God for those
grandparents and parents that believed in the precious blood of the Lamb and
ordained that same walk for me. Without my precious Savior I could not do my
duty and proceed in setting things straight. With Him behind me I will be
strong and take action. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Sunday,
April 1, 2007
PALM SUNDAY
Ephesians
4:16
He
makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special
work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and
growing and full of love.
Dear God,
We know that you created us to fit together in
perfect unity.
Our physical, emotional and spiritual selves, to
seek inner peace in Christ to share with others,
Our friend to friend and family member to family
member relationships to nurture each other into perfect images of Christ,
Our church member to church member relationships
to sing with joyful praise of our differences which bring new opportunities to
enhance our outreach,
Our business person to business person
relationships to have high integrity and respect for one another and the planet
on which we live,
Our citizen to citizen relationships as we show
respect for one another and strive with all of our hearts to see the world
through each other’s eyes.
Dear God,
We are broken. Each day we weep in that
brokenness.
Let us not say to one another, “If we had done
things this way or that way, we would not be broken. If we now elect this
person or that person, we will be repaired.”
Instead, let us wake up one day and say, “We are
broken and that’s where we are today. Help us to use all of our gifts.” Let us
feel it, play in it, bathe in it.
From the cracks and crevices of our brokenness,
naked and shivering, help us to have courage and strength. Help us to know that
you will rescue us, that only you can heal us.
From that vantage point, help us to know that
the invisible church of God will surround us, hold us, soothe us, love us.
Dear God,
We pray for unity. Amen.