All Those Who Are Far Away

I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish with you an everlasting covenant. Ezekiel 16:60

The promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him. Acts 2:39

REFLECTION:

I have signed a lot of contracts over the years. From cell phones to a mortgage, from my marriage license to the most mundane permission slip for a kids' activity, I have put my signature on a lot of things, saying "Yes, I will hold up my end of the bargain."

Most of the time, I have. But I'm not perfect. We recently broke a contract with Sprint (and paid dearly for it) because we found both the quality of the coverage and the quality of their customer service to be sub-par. So we didn't keep our end of that bargain (and frankly, neither did they, as we found the quality so low). So typically my signature is reliable, but not always.

God's promises are categorically different. The words spoken through Ezekiel tear through the pages and through the ages and still come to us today; I will establish with you an everlasting covenant. This is a contract God won't break. We do all the time, but God's grace still flows in our lives; God's love still shows up in the most unexpected people and the most unexpected ways. God keeps promises.

The second reading above, from the book of Acts, is on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit blows across the crowd, erasing difference as a barrier to relationship, as each person can hear the others speaking in their own native language. It's the reversal of the Old Testament story of the "Tower of Babel" (Genesis 11:1-9). In this cosmopolitan mix of people from all over the ancient world, they can understand each other.

In the middle of it all, Peter gets up and proclaims that Christ was sent for all. It is a stunning scene; yes, this Spirit blowing is a sign of the Truth of Christ...that all people are adopted as children of God, co-heirs with the Jewish people. Some of them say to the Apostles, "what should we do?" Peter's advice is clear. Repent (remember, that means simply "turn around your ways"), and be baptized. Then he utters the words above. This promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away.

That promise is what gets me up every morning. That promise is what motivates me as a pastor, and as a person. I know a lot of people who feel "far away" from God. It's often (not always) easy for me to claim that this promise is for me. Likewise, of course it is for my children. But it is for those far away as well? Yes. All those far away.

Those who FEEL far away because of past hurts. It's for them.

Those who are far away because they are hiding in their shells after past trauma. It's for them.

Those who don't want anything to do with "church" but still have big questions. It's for them.

Those who are in the pews every Sunday but feel disconnected from God. It's for them.

THIS is what a church is to be about. Communicating in the native language of others, the promise that is for them. Whether they are physically far away, or emotionally far away, our work is to translate the promise into their words so they can hear it and claim it as well. And we simply can't do that without the Spirit's help, just like on Pentecost.

PRAYER:

Wonderful and gracious God, giver of life and all good things, teach us to value your covenant with us. Allow us to praise your name in all times and places, in ways others can understand. Use us to draw those who are far away to you. Amen.*

*Prayer adapted from Moravian Daily Texts

Between Two Trees

He will swallow up death forever. Isaiah 25:8

Paul wrote: Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

REFLECTION:

We live between two trees.

On the one hand, the tree of Life in the Garden of Eden...where sin and brokenness entered the world. 

We feel the effects of this tree daily. The pictures from Egypt are the most recent reminder that as people, we continue to find reasons to oppose and harm each other. Our cries raise up for our Egyptian brothers and sisters today...our hearts break. Our palms fall silent as it seems like death has won.

But on the other side of us is the second tree...it's the same one tattooed on my arm; the tree planted by the river in Revelation 22; the tree that bears fruit each month to provide for all; the tree whose leaves are for "the healing of the nations."

Today, I am choosing to trust in the second tree, and the promise of the empty cross. Today, I am seeking shade under the tree that heals the nations. Lord, have mercy on us all...

PRAYER:

Holy and most wonderful God, teach us this day to define our lives not by death but by the life promised eternally through Christ our Savior. Amen.

Old Trees Still Bear Fruit

Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing. Psalm 92:13–14 (NKJV)

Paul wrote: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all. 1 Thessalonians 3:12

REFLECTION:

I love the Psalm 92 passage above, because I can immediately think of people I know who show me the beautiful truth of those words.

I think of Juanita Ruh, Bill and Gert Roots, Dorothy Bein, Elmer and Betty Eggert, Ellen and Myron Patt..(and this isn't an exhaustive list, of course...but just the first few names that come to mind!)

I think of the ways these and others definitely feel ROOTED in the narratives of the Scripture. They understand from the Exodus that God is about freeing people from slavery to anything that holds them bound. They understand from the resurrection that forgiveness releases people to be who they have been created to be, so they don't hold grudges easily. They understand from the early church that the Spirit blows where it will, and most of the life of a Christian is just trying to "catch up" to and participate in what God's already doing in the world.

These individuals, and so many others, are "planted in the house of the Lord." They flourish, even when our age-ist culture says they are 'too old" to be worth anything. They bear fruit. They ARE fresh and flourishing. They enliven, sustain, and provide for those of us who are younger than they. I am so deeply grateful for their history, certainly...but I am also deeply grateful for who they are right now, and who we are as a church because of them.

Today, may it be all our prayer that whatever limitations we face...be they physical, emotional, situational, financial...whatever...may our prayer be that God help us stay planted; help us flourish; help us bear fruit for others; help us be fresh and flourishing. That's my goal for today...but I'll only pull it off with God's help.

PRAYER:

God of comfort, may we seek to abound in your love and develop an attitude and an ability to recognize what is most important in our life: our relationship with you. May we follow your calling to become better disciples and learn to love all. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.*

*Prayer taken from the Moravian Daily Texts

Beneath The Surface

Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest. Jeremiah 5:24

God has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy. Acts 14:17 (NIV)

REFLECTION:

It has been raining a lot this week. The ground is soft and muddy beneath my feet.

What strikes me this morning, however, is what's happening invisibly beneath the surface. Even as I sit and type this devotion, all that water is nourishing the ground, making the soil rich for the coming spring. On a cellular level, billions of things are happening that will make flowers and grass and leaves possible in just a few short weeks. There is a flurry of activity just beneath my feet, preparing for new life.

I find myself wondering this morning; can I trust the same thing is happening in my heart? That even the rain, even the hard times, are watering me...and that God is busy with a flurry of activity beneath surface, ready to bring out new life in me and in the world?

Yes, I can trust that. So can you. In just a few days, we will wave our palm branches and shout "Hosannah!" Back then, they didn't know that a different kind of kingdom was emerging that what they expected. But now we know. Now we know that God's kingdom doesn't come through force or might; it comes through new life...it comes in a million ways on a million days...it breaks in wherever new life is needed.

So...can you sense it today? The flurry of activity beneath your feet preparing for Spring? Can you sense the flurry of activity in your heart preparing you for Easter morning? Can you sense that new life is coming? Can you sense it is already here?

PRAYER:

Creator God, in all seasons of life, we give thanks for your presence, love, comfort and guidance. Teach us this day to serve your kingdom with greater enthusiasm, and in doing so fill our hearts with joy. Amen.*

*Prayer taken from the Moravian Daily Texts

I Pledge Allegiance...

The Lord said to Elijah, “I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal.” 1 Kings 19:18

Jesus said to his disciples, “You are those who have stood by me in my trials.” Luke 22:28

REFLECTION:

The name "Baal" in the Bible is often used as a generic term to refer to various "false" gods of the cultures and people surrounding the Israelites. At times, it refers to the Canaanite sun god, and at other times seems to be used to refer to the main male god of the Phoenicians. For the sake of brevity, let's just say that in the Bible, "Baal" is a symbol of what we worship that is NOT the one, true God revealed in the history of Israel and the person of Jesus.

Because of this, I am thinking this morning about the other gods we worship...and about one in particular. The self.

In a consumer society, the self is a god, and fulfilling the needs, wishes, and whims of the self is held up as the highest good. Why else would we rush right out to buy the next newest thing, except that fulfilling our desires has been hammered into us as the reason we are alive? Why else would parents get into fights over this year's Christmas toy craze, except that being a "good parent" in our culture's eyes often comes to mean "fulfilling your children's wishes and desires"?

I could write a ton more about this tendency of ours, but we see it. We feel it. Making sure we, and those we love, have the "best" is often understood to be the best thing we can do with our lives. Sure, we wouldn't necessarily SAY this outloud, but it is how we act...having "enough" to fulfill consumer desires is what makes us feel like good parents, good spouses, and good friends.

Ironic, isn't it, that we have made the celebration of Jesus' birth the time of the year when our consumer tendencies reach a fever pitch? That we celebrate God showing up in a poor, backwater town by reveling in our own riches?

So I am thinking this morning about the two kingdoms that vie for our allegiance. The Kingdom of God and the kingdom of self...

The kingdom of self tempts me to think that my wishes, my desires, my needs, my struggles, etc...are the only thing that matters. This kingdom demands allegiance, and the others around me pay the price because I only have so much time and energy and it is going toward the kingdom I've chosen.

The Kingdom of God, on the other hand, demands perspective. Allegiance to this Kingdom means I have to see others, and their needs, as well as my own. It means working toward balance, even though we'll never perfectly achieve it. It means humility; acknowledging that no matter how hard we work, God still has to take over for us and that's OK.

Today, may we seize as many moments as we can to pledge allegiance to the Kingdom of God. It's more complicated than the other kingdom, but in the end it offers Life, Love, and Peace sufficient for the journey instead of an exhausting drive to fill our ever-deepening pits of need. May God give us the strength to see where this Kingdom is breaking in, and the strength to invest our time and our passions there.

PRAYER:

We seek our comfort through you, caring God. You know each of us better than anyone. Teach us today to rely upon you for all of our needs. In your grace encourage us to teach others and help those in need. We ask this in the name of our precious Lord and Savior, Amen.*

*Prayer taken from the Moravian Daily Texts

What The Light Touches

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day. Psalm 139:11–12

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5

REFLECTION:

The verse from Psalm 139 above is one that has brought me a lot of strength over the years. Any time I have myself convinced that things are dark...any time that I am certain things will not go well, I read that single verse to remind me, like yesterday's devotion said, "fear is a trick."

Today, this verse makes me think of a concept in physics having to do with light...

Light travels silently through space until it finds something to touch. Only then do we "see" it.

In the darkness of space, light travels quickly and imperceptibly. It doesn't illuminate the empty space. It bounces off of the objects that come in its path, and that is how it is then seen.

In the Scriptures, we hear that God is Light, and that God is Love. And I think Love functions much the same way. It travels invisibly until it finds something to love.

All of this is in my mind this morning because I think as we look at the emptiness of our lives, focusing on what we DON'T have, what we are afraid of, what is NOT going "right," we see just empty space. We get to the point where we say our own version of, "surely the darkness shall cover me..."

But if we focus on the people in our lives; if we focus on the blessings in our lives; if we consider our own lives, and how blessed we are to have made it to this moment...if we focus on these things, then we are seeing the objects of love and the things that light touches.

Today, let us think on the people who surround us; the blessings that have brought us this far; the life we are blessed to have this morning. This keeps us from staring out into empty space and declaring, "there's no light!" Instead, we see God's Light and Love bouncing off everything and everyone around us. May we be given eyes to see that Light today.

PRAYER:

Thank you for the hope you bestow, the peace you bring, the love you pour out, and the joy you give to us all. We praise you most of all for the gift of your son Jesus. May he be the beacon of light that guides and inspires our lives. Amen.*

*Prayer taken from the Moravian Daily Texts

Fear is a trick

The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. 1 Kings 17:16

Jesus says, “Give us each day our daily bread.” Luke 11:3

REFLECTION:

I am becoming more and more convinced that fear is itself the greatest thing that fights against good.

If you want to personify evil in the image of a red man with a pitchfork, fear is his favorite tool. If you want to talk about evil as that which opposes the good, then fear is it.

Particularly today, I am thinking about fear of not having enough. That's poisonous.

When I trust that there will be enough, I am willing to share, as the widow of Zarephath was in the 1 Kings reading above. But when I am afraid there won't be enough, I circle the wagons and make sure I can control whether there is enough for me and "my" people.

On the one hand, you have read this devotion before. The line of reasoning, that we must trust God to provide, has been spoken so many times it almost becomes a cliche. But I find it to be a life attitude that greatly shapes how I experience my days. 

In the moments I live from a deep sense of trust, I feel more at peace, more secure, like I am standing on a solid foundation. That foundation allows me to live open-heartedly, looking to each new person I meet and new experience I have as the next blessing.

But, when I am afraid that there won't be enough, I close in on myself. Anxiety follows. A furrowed brow and worry follows. And I miss the blessings in those around me because I become self-focused and self-preserving. And I am not speaking metaphorically here...I have plenty of times when I am afraid, too...and I simply notice I am not at my best when I am in that place. Ironically, being afraid there isn't enough actually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy whereby I don't live as open-heartedly, so I don't enjoy the blessings of others, so I actually am just reliant on myself. And when it's just up to me, I don't have enough.

I am reminded of the Henry Ford quote, "If you believe that you can't, or you believe that you can, you're right." I believe there is a deep truth behind this that echoes in the Biblical stories loud and clear. Said in Biblical language, God will provide. We just have to look for it, seek it, and we will find it.

Today, may you be given the power, the courage, and the trust to seek...and you will find what you need.

PRAYER:

God, help us to trust you. Help us to open ourselves to others and to today. Help us to find in the world around us, every good gift from you that we need to sustain us today. Amen.