Rules that set apart

I am in my office this day fine tuning my sermon and service for tomorrow. As I am doing that, I have been reflecting on the many ways we have of creating insiders and outsiders. We develop laws and rules to tell us what is acceptable and what is not. Often these rules also state who is acceptable and who is not. I realize that there is a need for rules for us to be able to function and to live together. These rules that are beneficial are important to society. I worry about what happens when a group whether the majority or often the case a dominant minority of people begin to dictate what is acceptable and who is acceptable. I have been reflecting on what is happening in our world today. Sometimes I wonder about what is going on and who is determining what is going on. Today it was announced that those who have complained about the corruption in the rebuilding of Iraq have been vilified, fired, and otherwise discredited. What bothers me is that I am not surprised.
Somewhere rules are only meant to benefit those who have power and have no ethical consideration of how they effect others. And when they break laws or rules, they do so with little concern about the consequences that can occur. Even when brought to justice, they often serve a significantly less time for their crimes and even get pardoned by the controlling political party both republican and democrats. Those in power will come up with excuses as to why it is OK to do what they are doing. An example beyond the corruption in Iraq is what has happened to the outsourcing of finished goods to foreign countries like China and Taiwan. The people of this nation state that they would buy products made in the USA but the corporations are more concerned about making huge profits more then they are concerned about the safety of those products. Where is the ethical concern about what they are doing? Especially when what they are doing is potentially harming the health of our children. Another thing as I am ranting is where is the pro-life outrage about this situation.
What got me thinking about this is the story in Luke about Jesus healing the crippled woman on the Sabbath and the reactions of those who were empowered to control the behavior of Sabbath. Jesus was more concerned about the well-being of one person then about holding fast to the rules of Sabbath. The question I am left with is should I be concerned as well as others about the well-being of others especially those who are least likely to have a voice or power then in the reasoning that just because it is legal it is OK.

Fear of what to say

There have often been times in my life that I am uncertain of what to say or what to do in different situations. I sometimes feel that I should have all the answers when those around me have all these questions. I know that feeling is irrational but I sometimes want to be able to help others so much that if I don't know the answer I feel inadequate. This can happen especially when trying to confront injustices and standing up for those who are marginalized in our world. Thank God that I am surrounded by family, friends, and colleagues who can support and help me be able to find the strength and means of being faithful to God.
It is also comforting to go to scriptures. This Sunday in the lectionary Jeremiah 1:4-10 is one of the scriptures. Jeremiah has been called by God to go forth and be His prophet. Jeremiah is only a young boy and felt inadequate to do what God wanted. God says to him "Do not say, 'I am only a boy,' for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, Now I have put my words in your mouth."
For everyone of us, preachers and laity, we need to remember that God has called each of us to do God's purposes. I know that I cannot even comprehend speaking for God unless God puts the world in my mouth through the Holy Spirit. And it is not in just words that God acts but in my actions and well as others. So when I have concerns and doubts, I need to spend time with God. Scripture states that the Lord hears us when we call out. And it is in God we can find peace and rest (Psalm 4). I trust that the Lord will guide me and direct me in my life.

Prayer for today

I have been meditating by taking a Psalm and reading and journaling on it during the week. I have just started so I am only on the 3rd Psalm. I read that Psalm daily and try to choose a particular word or phrase that speaks to me. Next week will be the 4th Psalm.
It is interesting this week as I continue my Wednesday communion series on Healthy Spirituality we talked about anxiety and worry. Psalm 3 speaks to that. I also recently bought a book "Psalms for Praying: An Invitation to Wholeness," by Nan C. Merrill. I wanted today to share the prayer she had for Psalm 3. "O Beloved, how numerous are my fears! They rise up within me whispering there is no help for you.
Yet, You, O Beloved, radiate Love around me, my glory; gratitude becomes my song, When I cry out to You you answer within my heart.
I lie down to sleep; if I should awaken, My Beloved is there holding me with strength and tenderness. I feel secure. Now, I shall forgive all illusions that my ego tries to build. For my courage is in You, O Lover You who are the Lover hidden in every heart. (3)"

Weeds in the garden

I have just finished weeding my garden for the (I don't know how many) times. I love to plant a garden and I love to harvest. There is an excitement about planning what one wants to plant and laying out where one is going to plant. I am blessed with people in my congregation who have helped till the land preparing for planting. We planted two tomato plants, one hot pepper plant, one bell pepper, lettuce, radishes, green onions, beets, and carrots. We had a wonderful growth of the plants. I always anticipate the time of harvest and enjoying the fruit of our labor. Somewhere I don't remember planting weeds. Yet they grew and if not pulled or howed would have taken over the garden. This despite the heat and the dryness until recently. Now is the time we are harvesting.
When I read about God planting the vineyard in Isaiah, I am reminded about my experience in gardening. When God planted the nation of Israel, God expected that the people would be fruitful in justice and righteousness. Instead of harvesting the grapes of justice, the people became wild with bloodshed and unjust. God's expectations did not happen and the weeds prevailed. Anytime that a garden or field or vineyard becomes so infested with weeds the only thing one can do is to pull everything and start over. God presents that to the people of Isaiah's time. That it is not God but rather the bad fruit that creates the need to redo. Later in Isaiah God does promise the return of the people and the new covenant.
I wonder about the gardens that we live in today. Are we producing the grapes of justice and righteousness? Jesus often used the metaphor of vines and that to produce fruit sometimes we need to prune the vine and to remember we are rooted in Christ. Like weeding my garden so that I can have a more abundant harvest, I need to weed my soul. I need to reach out to others with justice and mercy. I need to love God and worship God in all of what I do and what I think. I need to repent and to ask for forgiveness from God and from those to whom I have harmed in thought and deed. As I am able to do that, I can live a more fruitful life in Christ.

I also received a comment about the rich and their ability to enter the kingdom. There is nothing that states that just because we are rich that we cannot enter the kingdom. Jesus talks often about money and possessions because it can be a stumbling block in our lives. He says that it is easier for a camel to grow through an eye of the needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. He says that it is not impossible but difficult. In the book of James, the author states that "it is the love of money that is the root of evil." He does not say it is money but whether we begin to worship it.

Somewhere time has gotten away from me as far as my blog goes. I was talking about the scripture in Isaiah. As I am preparing for the service tomorrow, the passage from Luke caught my imagination. He starts with Jesus saying do not be afraid. What strikes about the statement is how often today we live in a constant state of fear. Prior to this passage Jesus tells his disciples do not worry. I wonder what it would be not to worry about money, possessions, food, shelter, and keeping what I have. I was reading an article that stated unfortunately the bank does not take "treasures in heaven" for payment of mortgages or car payments. So the question is how to live today in harmony with what Jesus says about worry and fear and keep our residence and our means of transportation.
The radical approach would be like the early church. Members would often sell their possessions and pool their money and resources and support one another. That seems so foreign to us today. I grow up in an era that tried to live that way in communes throughout the country. For the most part they failed to exist for any length of time. We have moved away from that period of communal living. There continues to problems with possessions and ownership that are so ingrained in our society that to try to overcome them are difficult. I know that I desire to own books even when I could check them out of the library and even contribute the money that I spend so that the library could buy more books. I do recycle my books when I am done often to other people or to the library. Yet, I keep a large number of them.
So what is the answer. To live faithfully and to live joyfully do I need to give away everything? Or do I need to examine my life and determine what I need to live on and what is excess? And it is more than just money the scripture is talking about. It is time, the use of my talents, and my relationships with God and others. If I live comfortably and do nothing to help someone else who has no shelter, no food, no clothes, no clean water to drink, no sense of safety, what does that say about what Jesus is talking about.
We are called to be prepared for the return of Christ and to be able to open the door for him to enter into our lives. If we are so caught up in fear and worry, we may miss his presence. Somewhere we need to find that balance in our lives between worry and trust in God.

What does God desire from us?

Whenever I read the scriptures especially for the lectionary, I continue to run across what it is that God desires for us and from us. This week in the lectionary we get some ideas from both the readings in Isaiah and Luke. God desires us to receive His kingdom. Jesus points out to us that too often we become so concerned about trivial issues that we may miss the larger viewpoint. I want to return to this tomorrow. Today I want to reflect on the passage from Isaiah 1:10-20.
The prophet begins this passage with God speaking to the people and comparing them to the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. Even though the people are offering burnt sacrifices, God states that He is fed up with them and takes no delight in them. That these attempts to curry favor is an abomination to God. Despite their following the festivals and religious services, God condemns them for their hands are full of blood. What God wants, the people are not doing and no amount of sacrifices, religious services, or even prayers will meet God's approval.
So what are they not doing that they should be doing. God does state to make themselves clean the people need to learn to do good, to seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow.
Today we need to examine ourselves. Sometimes I wonder if we just are going through the motions of religiosity without connecting what we say we believe to what we do in our daily lives. Do we really care about those who are the most vulnerable and without a social voice? God through the prophets continues to speak to remembering those who are the least, the lost, and the alone in our society. We are called to take our traditions, our religions to connect with those people around us. The author of "Awakenings", suggests, "Our hypocrisy, our violence, our injustice, the oppression that we visit on one another, our willingness to sacrifice truth and mercy and innocence is what God is speaking about (46)." This is not just found in the Old Testament but also in the Gospels from the teaching of Jesus. We face a choice to what we are willing to do. Are we going to just go through the motions or are we going to live our life in the way God wants us to live?

I came across the following that I wanted to share. It was in an article from Homiletics August 5th 2007. The author was talking about the Luke scripture. We do suffer in this country a problem with accumulation. I am as guilty as anyone about not getting rid of things that I have not used or even plan to use. I need to clean out my closets and my bookshelves and even my refrigerator. The entire article is about Rich fools. The author states that we are media saturated, we are fat, and we are rich as compared to most of the world. We are "stuffed barns (48)." We are called to remember that the scriptures are consistent with the theme that we have been given to and that we are to share with others, we are blessed so we may be a blessing to others, we are loved so we can love others, and we are forgiven so that we can forgive others. If we become obsessed with greed we will forget our blessings and forget that we are to be blessing to those we meet.
Go through your closets and drawers once a year. If you didn’t wear a piece of clothing that year, give it away. • Consider shared ownership of possessions with your neighbors. There are tons of things we own which we don’t need exclusive use of. Do two homes need two lawn mowers? Sharing possession combats accumulation and builds relationships with the lost. • Journal a list of all the things you need to live and another list of things you want for your life. Commit to purchasing only from the need list for the rest of the year. • Make a list of your monthly budget categories in order of amounts spent on each. Look at how your charitable giving compares with your accumulation line items — clothing, eating out, entertainment, grooming, hobbies, etc. Does the order need to change? • For the next month, every time you appreciate something that somebody else has, stop to pray for your own contentment with how you have been blessed. • Don’t rent a storage unit. If you have one, consolidate to only what you can fit in your home. • Christmas shopping starts again in three months. Declare a tight price limit on family presents, go with a no-gift Christmas, or spend as much sponsoring a local shelter as you do on gifts. Our well-fed, sedentary, affluent lifestyle can lead us away from being “rich toward God” (v. 21). But the message of Jesus is that we are blessed to be a blessing. Leave the bigger barns to the rich fools of the parables and the rich fools of the census and commit to being better at sharing than at storing.
Think about maybe three things that you can do this week. Are there things you can give away? Are there clothes you can collect? How about collecting food for the pantries this week?

For what do we strive for?

I was reading the lectionary for this week as I prepare for Sunday. This week is also our county fair. As we prepare ourselves for all that the fair represents especially to our community, I sometimes wonder about what is it that we strive for. For our youth there is the competition for that blue ribbon and the purple best in class. For those who rodeo, it is that eight seconds on the bull. For the carnival and rides, it is the number of tickets sold. Even for our church which has a wonderful food stand, it is how many dinners did we sell. It is interesting that the lectionary for this week deals with becoming enamored with false gods, setting our thoughts not on Christ, or getting caught up in greed (Hosea 11:1-11; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21).
I know that competition is not an evil in and of itself. I have seen where healthy attitudes about competing have been beneficial to our development. Where I see problems is when competition becomes the end and not the means. What happens to a person who competes and only gets a white or red ribbon? Does that mean that they were not good? Sometimes people place their entire sense of self based on how well they do in competition and when they do not succeed become so discouraged that they become depressed and give up on themselves. I have also seen others judge people based on how well they competed.
There was a poem printed in "Behold: Arts for the Church Year," Pentecost 1 2007 page 6. The poem was written by Charles Reznikoff and the line was "Not for victory/but for the day's work done/ as well as I was able (Te Deum, Black Sparrow Books)." In our society, it is difficult not to get caught up in the competition and have the bigger houses, salaries, barns full of crops, or the number of blue ribbons. I would suggest that it is more important in this competitive world not whether we are victorius, but were we able to do what we can as "well as I was able." Do we want to have the recognition or can we be satisfied that we used the talents God has blessed us to the best of our abilities. Not for my glory but for the glory of God.
By all means let us compete but not define or worship false idols of success. Rather using competition as a means for us to continue to grow in our faith and strengthen our relationship with God our creator.