Monday, July 7

Today’s Readings: Psalm 35; Genesis 29:20-35; Luke 1:48-56; Acts 15:12-21; Psalm 77

In early April the National Council of Churches asked local faith communities to engage in an ongoing conversation titled “A Sacred Conversation on Race”. Sadly, many local faith communities chose to opt out of this call – I suspect largely out of fear that talking about a difficult topic like race might scare off some of their parishioners. In talking with friends about our faith community’s decision to participate in the on-going conversation about race, I shared that I was glad I wasn’t smart enough to worry about the ramifications of such a conversation. It was just something that had to be done. My friend was a little surprised when I shared my reasoning for why it had to be done. Instead of saying what he expected to hear (i.e. “We’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do”), I said we were participating because it’s the ONLY thing we could do. In today’s passage from Acts - in the midst of a volatile controversy about the inclusion of Gentiles in the Jewish-Christian community – James says to his audience, “Friends, listen. Simeon has told us the story of how God at the very outset made sure that racial outsiders were included” (Acts 15:13 – The Message). What those words tell me is that being inclusive isn’t something that we should take pride in – something that we do because it’s “the right thing to do”. No, today’s passage tells me we are inclusive because it’s in our DNA as Christians; it’s simply who we are. And the best part of living in Christian community is that we don’t simply have to wait until we die in order to get a taste of God’s all-inclusive Reign. Peter, James, John, Paul & Barnabus showed us that if we are faithful in following the Spirit’s leading, we can get a big taste of that Reign right here and now – in our individual and collective lives together! Til next time…

Sunday, July 6

Today’s Readings: Psalm 45:10-17; Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30; Romans 7:15-25

Today’s Psalm is an interesting Psalm to sit with on the Sunday following the 4th of July. Why would I say that? I say that because I know that many of our churches across the country will use this Sunday to sing the praises of our country. And yet how does this morning’s Psalm begin? With these words: “Now listen, daughter, don’t miss a word: forget your country, put your home behind you” (Psalm 45:10 – The Message). I doubt that many pastors will use this text in worship. So what is the psalmist getting at behind those words? My sense is that the psalmist is calling his daughter to gain a sense of perspective that is larger than the one she is use to using. That’s why later the psalmist urges her not to “dote on father and grandfather” (the past) but to “set your mind now on sons” (the future) (Psalm 45:16 – The Message). I love the words from this morning’s psalm because they call on all of us to do the same thing – step back and look at things from a larger perspective. While we can certainly give thanks for the country in which we live, we should not forget to give thanks for other lands and other peoples whose presence enriches our lives and our world. While we can give thanks for our own families and friends who have supported and nurtured us, we should not forget to give thanks for all the other families and friends who have supported and nurtured others. In other words, we should begin to move beyond the narrow lens through which we view the world, and open ourselves to seeing glimpses of a larger perspective: God’s. On this final day of your holiday weekend, find some time to do just that. Til next time…

Saturday, July 5

Today’s Readings: Psalm 45; Genesis 29:1-20; Luke 1:29-45a; Acts 15:1-12; Psalm 133

Many folks today think that facing contentious issues within the Christian community is a new thing. In their coverage of denominational meetings, newspapers nervously predict schisms will occur over issues like abortion or homosexuality. Each time I read these articles I chuckle because it shows how out of touch people are with the early history of the Christian movement. Today’s passage from Acts provides first century proof of this. In the passage, we are told the story of the conflict between Paul & Barnabas and the followers in Jerusalem. The issues over which they squared off weren’t homosexuality or abortion; if you can believe it, the issues they faced were much more emotionally and spiritually charged: circumcision and table fellowship. The passage provides a beautiful model for us “moderns” to follow in terms of how to deal with differences. Aspect one of the model: communicate. The church could have simply relied upon second hand information regarding what Paul and Barnabus were up to. They didn’t. Instead, Acts 15:2 tells us “the church decided to resolve the matter by sending Paul, Barnabus, and a few others to put it before the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem”. Aspect two of the model: listen. While some would assume that listening would automatically be included in communication, I’ve learned that today that’s a dangerous assumption to make. Many folks think communication is simply speaking your point. How do I know listening was an aspect of the model? Acts 15:12 tells us that after Peter took the floor “there was dead silence. No one said a word.” This tells me Peter’s audience had actually heard what Peter had said. This leads me to the third aspect of the model: be willing to change. The dead silence that followed Peter’s speech proves those in attendance didn’t spend their time during Peter’s speech trying to think of a clever reply. No, their silence meant that they had absorbed the truth and power of Peter’s words and were in a different place at the end of his speech than they were at the beginning. Communicate. Listen. Be willing to change. Those three elements diffused what could have been a fatal tension in the early Christian community. Imagine what might happen if we embraced those elements today in our own churches and in our own lives. Is there an area of your life where you are experiencing tension with others? If so, try using those three principles and see what happens. It’s amazing how God’s spirit can effect healing and reconciliation if only we use the tools that help create the space for the Spirit to work. Til next time…

Friday, July 4

Today’s Readings: Psalm 84; Genesis 27:46-28:22; Luke 1:26-38; Acts 14:19-28; Psalm 85

Today, as you know, is the 4th of July. It’s a day when those of us who live in the United States take the opportunity to celebrate the freedoms and new sense of life we gained when our ancestors had the courage to declare their independence from England. Today’s second Psalm also picks up on these themes of independence and new life, for in that Psalm the psalmist says: “You aren’t going to keep this up, are you? Scowling and angry, year after year? Why not help us make a fresh start – a resurrection life. Then your people will laugh and sing” (Psalm 85:5-6 – The Message). This sense of new starts, new beginnings, and a new sense of independence got me to wondering. Are there pieces of your life from which you need to break free: destructive habits, life-denying patterns, meaningless routines, counter-productive thought cycles, you name it. If so, you don’t have to wait another six months to break these cycles and make your New Year’s Resolutions – you can do it on this Independence Day. May today mark a new beginning for you as you get your fresh start and experience a taste of this “resurrection life” for yourself. Til next time…

Thursday, July 3

Today’s Readings: Psalm 146; Genesis 27:30-45; Luke 1:1-25; Acts 14:8-18; Psalm 81

In preparations for this Sunday’s worship service, I’m working with the second half of Sunday’s Gospel reading from Matthew. The second half of that reading has to do with Jesus’ words instructing his followers with heavy burdens to lay them down. The benefit of laying those burdens down? Rest! Those words leapt immediately to mind as I read today’s second Psalm – Psalm 81 for verses 6 and 7 of that Psalm read: “I took the world off your shoulders, freed you from a life of hard labor. You called out your pain; I got you out of a bad place” (The Message). Most folks outside of the faith assume that having your burdens lifted - or having the world taken off your shoulders - means that when you turn to God your problems magically disappear. In fact, some seekers turn to God with this expectation – conceptualizing God as a wand that they only have to wave in order to make all their problems disappear. Not so. In fact, over the years I’ve learned time after time that people of faith face the same number of problems in their life as people who claim no faith; the only thing that difference is how they handle those problems. Case in point, my friend Evelyn. Evelyn and her husband Denny gave me one of my first paid jobs ever – working around their farmhouse when I was just 12. She and Denny were a couple of real characters. But in the lunches I shared with them in the middle of my workdays, I got to know them pretty well. One thing I learned was that they were people of VERY deep and abiding faith. Evelyn was in her late sixties when I first worked for them, and over the course of the next ten years I watched her face many problems. First, she faced her husband’s illness and death. Next, she faced the loss of her family farm. And finally she faced the onset of aggressive lung cancer – a cancer that would soon claim her life. As you can see, by most people’s standards Evelyn had a pretty heavy set of burdens to carry. No matter what problem arose, however, Evelyn refused to carry the burdens. She kept turning them over to God. And even on the day of my last visit to her in the hospital, Evelyn had more peace and joy than anyone I had ever met. To use today’s words of the psalmist, God had gotten her out of the bad place. So where are you at in terms of facing the burdens of your life? Are you trying to manage and resolve them yourself, or are taking them off of your own shoulders and placing them on Someone else’s? If you are still trying to manage the unmanageable, I would encourage you to cry out to God in the midst of your own pain and frustration. Even though the external circumstances you face might not change (at least overnight or perhaps not at all), as you cry out you can take peace knowing that you are well on your way to getting out of your bad place no matter what happens. Til next time…

Wednesday, July 2

Today’s Readings: Psalm 101; Genesis 27:1-29; Matthew 28:11-20; Acts 14:1-7; Psalm 98

Ever since I was a child, folks have commented about my optimistic nature. I noticed, however, that after commenting on my up-beat nature many folks would immediately follow it up by saying, “Wait until he gets older and see how the world works. Then his attitude will change.” As I start my 42nd year on the planet, thankfully I’m still waiting for that change to occur. While my optimistic nature has yet to change, a seismic shift has occurred below the surface of my life that has gone undetected by some. That shift has to do with the source of my optimism. You see as a young person, my optimism was grounded in the belief that we human beings could solve any problem if we would just put our minds to it. “If only we could elect the right people,” I would observe, “THEN we would have responsible policies in place that would solve all of our problems.” Or when confronted with blatant expressions of bias, I would think to myself, “If only we could educate people, then all forms of prejudice would disappear.” I had an extremely lengthy list of “If onlys…” Over time, however, I began to realize that human efforts alone weren’t enough to remedy the problems we face. I’ve lived long enough to see both political parties control the executive and legislative branches of government and yet the problems continued. I’ve also lived long enough to see some of the best educated folks perpetuate one of the most insidious (and yet lesser recognized) forms of isms such as classism. Just as I was reaching the point where most optimistic individuals come face to face with stark realities that cause them to abandon hope and embrace cynicism, I got in touch with a new perspective that restored my sense of optimism. In fact, it didn’t just restore my sense of hope – it increased it. And what perspective was that? Well, it was the perspective put forward by the psalmist in today’s second psalm. As Psalm 98 culminates, the psalmist cries out: “A tribute to God when God comes; when God comes to set the earth right. God will straighten out the whole world. God will put the world right, and everyone in it” (Psalm 98:9 – The Message). Those words reminded me that the source of my optimism really lies not in MY efforts or MY commitments; the undying source of my optimism is none other than God. The next time you start to find yourself feeling defeated - defeated by the gas prices, defeated by the newspaper headlines, defeated by the stack of bills sitting on your table – remember the words of the psalmist. Those words will remind you just who is capable of “straightening out the whole world” – just who “will put the world right, and everyone in it.” If you keep your eyes on those words from the psalmist, then I can guarantee that you’ll join me in the camp of the eternal optimists. Til next time…