Wednesday, July 9

Today’s Readings: Psalm 18; Genesis 31:1-24; Luke 1:67-80; Acts 15:30-41

One of my biggest character defaults is that my natural tendency is to want to have everything thought through before I commit myself to something. Now when some folks read that statement, they might think to themselves, “Thinking things through first is a bad thing? Sounds pretty responsible to me!” If that’s your first response, I can certainly empathize. That’s because for years I couldn’t imagine any other way of being. Zechariah’s words of prophesy in Matthew, however, contains words that point us toward another way of being. In speaking of his future child and the way in which God will use that child Zechariah noted, “Through the heart felt mercies of our God, God’s sunrise will break in upon us, shining on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death, then showing us the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace” (Luke 1:77-79 – The Message). I particularly like the last 14 words of that passage – “showing us the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace”. That phrase helped me uncover two limitations of my previous “plan it all ahead in advance” approach toward life. The first limitation was that often I would put the bulk of my energies into planning things rather than actually doing things. The second limitation is that the outcomes were nearly always limited to the scope of MY vision. I rarely allowed myself the luxury of thinking or dreaming outside of the box. Thankfully Zechariah’s words offer a different way of being: a way where things unfold one moment at a time. They also point us toward a reality that would be bigger and better than anything we could dream of ourselves. So much for our beloved boxesJ If you are like me and struggle with an addiction to preparation and planning, I invite you to sit with Zechariah’s words and see if they might help encourage you to let things unfold for you so that you too could be put on “the path of peace”. Til next time…

Tuesday, July 8

Today’s Readings: Psalm 72; Genesis 30:1-24; Luke 1:57-66; Acts 15:22-29; Psalm 145

I draw great strength from the stories of our faith that remind us how God can be present and work through circumstances that are less than ideal. Today’s passage from Genesis is a good example of this. In the passage, we are told the story of how Jacob came to have eight of his children (the birth of his first four sons was mentioned at the end of Genesis 29). Now given Jacob’s standing in our faith tradition, you would expect the circumstances of those births to be extremely noble, right? Wrong! The pregnancies were instead fueled by petty jealousies and insecurities. In spite of those questionable beginnings, however, Jacob’s sons went on to become the heads of what would become the tribes of Israel. This reminds me of the transformative presence God can have in our lives: how things that are initially born out of our own shortcomings can blossom and grow into things we would never imagine. As you survey the landscape of your life, perhaps you’ve personally experienced this dynamic. Today I would encourage you to take a moment and see if there are remaining aspects of your life that you would consider inviting God’s transformative presence into – aspects that had less than noble beginnings. If you take that dramatic step and invite God’s presence into those embarrassing or uncomfortable places, you just might be surprised what those areas of your life blossom into and become. Til next time…

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…