On the Way to Wonder

Day 4 of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a tradition started in 1908!  Today we ponder John 15:15, “I do not call you servants any longer… but I have called you friends.”  Friends talk to each other. 

         One of the notable themes of yesterday’s inauguration was the presence of religion.  Four past and to-be presidents went to church together before the event.  The family Bible was sworn on.  Pres. Bidden stopped for prayer in his speech for those affected by Covid.  The young poetess mentioned the role of faith.  The call for unity is a call for conversation and a realization of the enormity of the challenges facing us today. That is a call to prayer.

         Praying in my closet is one thing but corporate prayer, prayer with others, often becomes a leader saying the prayer and the people chiming in, “amen.”  Is it possible to pray wrong?  If we use human friendship as our model then it is possible to say words that hurt and confront.  Hopefully the tie of friendship allows for explanations and healing of these wounds.  In Romans 8: 26-27, Paul reminds us that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness,

         “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”

         The discipline of corporate prayer is needed today.  We can wait until Sunday and let the pastor say words that we agree on but we can also pray with a friend, a spouse, or a prayer partner.  Prayers can be for the outcome of policies we want but they can also be for wisdom for our leaders, even as Solomon requested.  Offer prayers for ears to hear each other as discussions about how to handle the challenges will seek consensus.  Prayers for humility and vision are needed.  Praying through a psalm or praying a hymn is a creative way to talk together.  The Holy Spirit interprets our prayers so we need not fear.  We will be blessed and those we pray for will be blessed also.  Thank you, Lord.


“Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12b)

Day 3 in our week of prayer for Christian Unity, we ponder the role of forgiveness.  A large part of the gospel reports deal with that last week of Christ’s life.  The last supper that we remember in our communion traditions, must have deeply impressed the followers.  Jesus kneeling and washing the feet of Judas who would betray him, of Peter who would deny him, and of the others who would flee, this memory is boggling to our limited thinking.  Without forgiveness relationships shatter and society polarizes.  We know this.  Today we inaugurate a new President as we stand in a country deeply divided.  How will healing ever occur?

         Paul admonishes the Colossians in chapter 3: 12-14, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”  Today we will hear speeches about unity and pulling together to make our country better.  For many there will be the terrible temptation to retreat in bitterness and cynicism.  For others it will be a call of victory.

         I love Walter Wangaard’s discussion of forgiveness in his book As for Me and My House.  Forgiveness does not deny differences.  Forgiveness is not a promise to forget that which has scarred us.  Forgiveness is not acting our way into a new way of feeling.  Forgiveness comes as we look past ourselves to the cross where we see love lived out. Christ loved us while we are sinners and loved us knowing we will fall short but that love still washes our feet and walks with us, giving us the strength to heal.  As we watch all the ceremonies today and listen to all the commentators and hear all the theories of how life will unfold in the coming days, may we also keep our hearts on the cross and its deep reminder that the way forward comes with forgiveness and foot washing.

In 1908 Paul Wattson proposed that January 18-25 be a week of prayer for Christian Unity, across all denominations.  Many in the Northern Hemisphere will be praying and meditating on the verses of this week and entering committed prayer.  John 15: 1-17 frames our meditations.

         Day 2 we focus on verse 4a of John 15,  “Abide in me as I abide in you.”  Mary, mother of Jesus, saw the events unfolding in her life in ways she did not fully understand. Luke tells us she “treasured all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:51)  Are we pondering and treasuring the unfolding of the events of this week in our heart and listening for God’s voice in them?  The news with constant reports of the fear of violence can draw our minds and hearts down.  But we have a choice about what we meditate on.

         When I was younger, due to political unfolding of systems in my life, our family was forced to move to Nairobi.  It was quick.  It was unsettling and I needed to ground myself.  A friend and I met weekly for memorization and prayer to ground ourselves in God’s truth.  Her goal was to memorize a prayer from Scripture to pray for her family.  I have not forgotten that advice.  During times of distress, I try to my ground thoughts and emotions in a time tested prayer.  Ephesians 3:14-19 is one of those prayers that I could ponder and theologians have written a book about.  Let’s meditate on it today.

         “For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derive its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he ay strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have   power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and  high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that  surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

         Let us abide in these truths.  Our lives are under God’s control as much as our President’s.  God gives us strength and power, not just money, to deal with life’s challenges.  Christ dwells in our hearts – that close, not in Washington or far off realms.  Our roots draw strength and power from the love of God that is not measurable and not understandable.  It is a gift.  Our lives are in his hands.  Let’s let these truths sink into our hearts, a treasure that makes us rich!   Blessings as you pray.

Christian Unity

In 1908 Paul Wattson proposed that January 18-25 be a week of prayer for Christian Unity, across all denominations.  Many in the Northern Hemisphere will be praying and meditating on the verses of this week and entering committed prayer.  Wow, this is a significant week for people in the United States with the inauguration of a new President and threats of violence across our country.  We join our voices in this week of prayer for Christian Unity.  We will join our hearts with the world wide Christian church to pray and reflect on designated verses.  The theme for this year comes from John 15: 1-17.  The theme, “Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit” comes from verses 5-9. 

           Day 1, today, we look at John 15:16a, “You did not choose me but I chose you.”  For many that spiritual experience with the Divine when a person “accepts Jesus as their Savior” or when a person becomes deeply aware of their chosen-ness is a deep defining moment in their life.  Yesterday in church services we read and reflected on Jesus calling his first disciples.  Similarly, Father Abraham in Genesis 12:1-4 had a similar call experience when God appeared to him, “Go to the land I will show you.”

         Jesus called the disciples.  God called Abraham.  God calls us, just as we are.  We do not work our way to heaven but God comes to us.  We are chosen to be a blessing to all, to start a journey with God to new places in our lives that we may not anticipate but that he unveils and reveals.  This call is for everyone, not just the young.  Abraham was to be a blessing to all nations, not just his “peeps,” not just to those who agree with him, but to all the nations God created. 

         Today people in the USA and the media struggle with polarization, of choosing who is good, who is right, and who is wrong.  This theme is so strong right now.  Only God knows the hearts of people.  These two call scenarios show us that God calls us in our selfishness, shortsightedness, our incompleteness to be a blessing to all and he calls us to start a journey with him to places unknown to us now.  This week may we turn from violence and hatred and keep our eyes focused on a savior who died for all and who calls us to be a blessing.

“It is time!”  I love that line in Lion King when Rafiki, (the name means friend in Swahili), the wise monkey, tells Simba it is time to claim his kingdom.  Simba majestically starts to walk to Pride Rock, to stand silhouetted by the sun and to do a roar.  It is a beautiful picture of the stepping into identity and role Simba has prepared all his life for.  This week TV will broadcast the change of leadership for us as President elect Biden assumes a position he has worked for all his political career.   Many will feel that same sense of fulfillment, it is time.

         Mark introduces the start of Jesus’ public ministry with the words, “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near.”  Mark uses the words “kingdom of God” fifteen times in his Gospel as Jesus preaches and fleshes out what that means.  I thought of the famous Lord’s Prayer that so many know and was given to us as a model of prayer and which has as the second petition,  “they kingdom come.”  The Catechism defines this as God’s Kingdom of Grace, his Kingdom of Glory, but not yet his Kingdom of Power.  That is still coming with Christ’s return when he climbs Pride Rock and declares his complete reign over life.  What a moment that will be.

         Today is Saturday so let us sit back and focus our hearts in a musical rendition of the Lord’s Prayer by Andrea Bocelli: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf1wtzOoXDA.  The Kingdom of God is near in the presence of Jesus Christ, in the closeness of the Holy Spirit, and experienced in word, sacrament, prayer and fellowship.  Lord, may we keep our eyes on you as we go through this week.

What good news would you like to hear today?  I’m taking my car in for a check up and I would love to hear the bill fits my budget!  I would love to turn on the radio and hear some words of reconciliation on our political scene.  It would be nice if the statistics on illness and death would improve.  Oh, for a phone call from one of my children.  There are so many messages of “good news” we could hear today.  When Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, was put in prison, Jesus traveled back to home territory, “Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, ‘The time has come,’ he said, ‘the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.’”

         “The time has come.”  That sounds like our news stations counting down to next Wednesday and the inauguration.  Events are unfolding and probably change is on the horizon.  I’m not sure we would call it the “kingdom of God” but certainly we are approaching an event.

         The time has come for serious preparation for the event.  Soldiers are securing the parade route and the capital.  The wedding dress is bought and hanging on the door.  The food is ordered for the celebration party afterwards.  Invitations have been sent.  Anticipation is high.  The coming of the kingdom of God is not dissimilar. 

         Jesus preached, “the time has come” for the unveiling of the kingdom of God.  How are we preparing?  Are we checking out news reports – reading Scripture?  Are we encouraging our friends to “tune in” to unfolding events and prepare?  Are we in prayer, responding to the invitation?  I note that Jesus goes on to tell people to repent and believe.

         Today we do have “good news.”  No matter who becomes President of the US, God is still reigning over life.  No matter what evil threatens our lives, our souls are in the hands of God.  No matter what fears plague our thinking, Jesus offers the “peace that passes understanding.”  We have much “good news” we can focus on and ground our lives in today in the midst of the chaos and turmoil of our world. May we think on those words as we go about our day.  “The time has come! The kingdom of God is near!”  Blessings.

“After…” Mark 1:14

“After” the temptation, after Jesus’ cousin John, who baptized Jesus, was put in prison, “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.”  We are living right now in the “after” and sorting ourselves out.  It is after the election.  It is after the vote of impeachment yesterday.  Today is after announcements about vaccinations.  Today is after the death of someone I knew and I know “after” means grief for the family left behind.  “After” suggests sequence and perhaps cause and relationship.  Our actions do not stand in a void anymore than Jesus’ approach to his ministry.

         “After,” a word I had never focused on before, makes sense of John’s questions in prison.  John sent his disciples to ask Jesus if Jesus was the Messiah, the one prophesied to come.  “After” can trigger doubt that drives action.  After climbing on the scale in the morning, I re-examine my diet plan and what failed and what worked.  My plans for the day are dependent on the outcome of yesterday as well as the desires of my heart.

         Jesus returned to Galilee.  “After” initiated a travel plan for Jesus.  The baptism was at the Jordon, closer to Jerusalem and with John’s imprisonment, Jesus traveled north to less politically dangerous territory.  Some of our plans for today will now involve a “travel plan.”  We need to get food to feed the family.  We need to go to the post office to send a card, or at least an email.  We need to call a friend or someone official.   We make our plans and sometimes those plans involve moving to a less dangerous, less volatile place in life, in mind anyway.  Jesus did.

         Jesus went to Galilee, his home territory in northern Israel.  May I suggest that sometimes I need to move my thoughts to safer memories.  My husband will ask me, “Are you chewing on that bone again?”  My thoughts are trapped in some incident that hurt and I ruminate on it.  Perhaps I need to move to prayer, to confession of my wrong, to journaling, to talk with a friend, or even turn on positive music – anything to stop the downward spiral of doubt and self-criticism.  As I listen to the news and hear about the armed soldiers guarding the capitol for the inauguration, it is possible for fear to immobilize me, for stereotypes of “the other” to fill my mind, and for my thoughts to undermine my sense of security.  Jesus lived in no less volatile and dangerous times.  “After” John was imprisoned, Jesus knew it was time to return to Galilee. Perhaps we too need to refocus today.

         “After” the defining event of yesterday that is impacting your today, let’s take time to center our thoughts on a Savior who understands doubts and danger, who travels with us and with the situation driving us, and who comes to preach the good news of God.  He is with you today.  He cares. And He can meet your challenge with you.  Blessings.

“At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert,

and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. 

He was with the wild animals

and the angels attended him. (Mark 1:12,13)”

Temptation!  Now there is another subject.  “That donut just jumped in my mouth.  You see, my friend gave it to me and I did not want to hurt her feelings.  I haven’t had one for ages and I’ll cut back tomorrow.”  We all know the self-talk that leads us down a path that usually ends in regret. 

         James talks about temptation specifically in his first chapter verse 13,

“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then after desire has conceived it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown gives birth to death.”  The Holy Spirit led Jesus but did not tempt him.

         Today we have multiple sources of temptation to embrace that that does not please God.  God created us “good” but ads offer whatever to help us be “more good” — beautiful or healthy or secure or anything.  Desire shifts from pleasing God to pleasing people.  Doing something spectacular, like Jesus jumping from a building like Superman, would certainly bring quick popularity for Jesus.  But how long would that last?  The temptation that our culture today is struggling with is the road of impeachment.  It is so easy to believe “the other party” is hateful, wrong and needs to be punished.  It is so easy to stereotype and demonize that which threatens our path.  Impeachment is not that different than going through the cupboard and eliminating all the food that is unhealthy for my diet.  Eliminating, getting rid of what we consider wrong, is a common coping approach.

         I note in this passage that Jesus was tempted.  He understands our temptations.  He understands the philosophical battle we are immersed in right now.  I also note that he did not eliminate Satan for testing him.  He had the power as true God but he did not use it. His answer was the choice of the cross and resurrection. The temptation report in the Gospels affirms to us that temptation is real, is not coming from God, and is something we grow through.  When I am tempted to resort to violence or when I am tempted by anger, I am walking in the desert with a God who loves people on both sides.  Jesus did not create bread to feed himself, did not do something spectacular to impress, and did not short-cut the painful path being faced by bowing down to Satan. 

         As we walk these next days may we too examine the motives and purposes of our hearts and continue to ponder how God would have us respond.  Prayer, being in the Word, and seeing “the other” as God’s concern also helps.  Lord, have mercy as we walk this wilderness with you.

“At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert,

and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. 

He was with the wild animals

and the angels attended him. (Mark 1:12,13)”

The Gospel of Mark is believed by many to have been written by John Mark, a youth at the time of Christ’s ministry, the cousin of Barnabas, traveling companion of Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, and according to Eusebius (110 AD) Mark is the interpreter, explainer, of the words of the apostle Peter.  This John Mark is the CNN reporter we are focusing on this year.  We are reflecting on faith through his eyes.

         “He was aiming to give a faithful outline of Peter’s preaching and teaching about the good news of the Christ to a Gentile audience in Rome,” according to an African Bible Commentary I often refer to.  Mark is not trying to be chronological like Matthew and Luke.  He does not open his book with the Bethlehem story but rather with the words, “In the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  “Gospel” means good news.  Mark jumps straight to the baptism of Jesus that we studied yesterday, ending with the Trinity coming in “touchable” realities: the Father as voice declaring love without need to earn it, the Holy Spirit as a Dove descending or coming to us, and Jesus as “true man” identifying with us, his creation that needs forgiveness.  As my husband would say, “That’s deep!”

         John the Baptist calls people to a baptism of repentance, not in the temple and tradition, but in the wilderness at the Jordon.  Jesus chooses there to start his journey with the masses.  Next verse!  “At once the Spirit sent him…”  No dust gathering here!  After the mountain top experience, it seems there follows a valley that tests — those wonderful truths we felt we discovered at camp, in love, from the stimulus check, after our person won the election—the valley happens.  We return from college and the independence there to come home for vacation and the realities there.  Within the first week of marriage we have a major fight.  The stimulus check comes and is followed with a bill that eats it.  On the horizon is January 20^th and the fears of the nature of the transition.

         Mark does not describe the desert experience except to describe it as a time of temptation by Satan, a clash of values.  In those valley experiences the beliefs we have developed are tested.  Hard times reveal my character and go to my inner core.  I would like to think I am kind, loving, generous, and patient but….  The cake jumped in my mouth after the decision to diet.  Those words jumped out of my mouth when yet again he did what I’ve asked him not to.  My heart despairs when I turn on the news and hear all the reports of possible chaos.  Where is my faith?  Growing!  Jesus walked through a desert time too and understands.  Interestingly, Mark adds the detail that the danger did not only come from within and his temptation from Satan but he also was in danger, temptation to fear, without from the wild animals.

         “Angels attended him.”  God does not abandon us in times of temptation and danger.  As we walk into 2021, into our political future, continue with the virus, struggle with the economy, make decisions about our future and how we want to live it, we do not walk alone.   The good news that God comes to us in our baptism and walks with us through our temptations and dangers is “good news!!!”  We are people of hope for 2021 not because of who we are but because of who He is. We will learn more about in the coming weeks.  For now, it is good to know God comes to us.  Blessings, you are not alone.