| Verse of the day For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body — whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. – 1 Corinthians 12:13 (NIV) |
| Voice of the day When unity is evolved out of diversity, then there is a real and abiding national progress. – Manhar-ul-Haque |
| Prayer of the day God, may we embrace and value the rich diversity of our nation, seeing our diversity not as an obstacle to unity but as being a part of the template for the unity that you desire. |
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
A time of writing and reflection
A time of preparation for worship recording
A time to simply Be Still
As I watch the COVID-19 numbers rise
My heart aches, Lord
Guide us as we walk through the Valley of the Shadows
Help us to be witnesses to your love, hope, and peace
Let your light shine brightly when our light struggles
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Today as Denise and I said Morning Prayer together (we use Northumbria Community’s Celtic Daily Prayer), Thomas Merton’s prayer was one of the readings for today. The prayer is also found in Merton’s book, Thoughts in Solitude (p. 79)
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. And I know that if I do this, You will lead me by the right road although I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust You always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Thomas Merton has been speaking to me quite a bit lately through this prayer and his other writings. This is especially true as your Padre navigates the COVID-19 reality with his congregation. We as a community of faith must balance our desire for in-person worship/fellowship and the realities/dangers that such gatherings will create. Trusting in God to guide me as I seek to lead God’s children here in this place and far beyond isn’t always easy. Conflicting desires on the part of individuals and communities can be challenging. Therefore will I trust You always, thought I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and will never leave me to face my perils alone.
These concerns and realities are much greater than me. In addition to the millions of people that I don’t know, these concerns impact so many whom I love. A colleague and dear friend will be officiating at a funeral today for a parishioner who died from COVID-19. A friend of ours has had COVID and is now dealing with multiple serious health issues as a result of the virus. Please pray with me and with all of our sisters and brothers who continue to deal with the destruction this Pandemic is causing.
Today I received the weekly update from the assisted living and memory care facility where my Dad lives. The residents, along with their family members and designated representatives, have been asked not to gather together for Thanksgiving. If a resident does choose to go to a holiday gathering outside of the facility, they will need to quarantine for fourteen days following their return. Yes, this holiday season will be very different from years past.
Carrollton Presbyterian Church (CPC), where I am serving, is working on plans for a Virtual Christmas Eve service that will be shared on our Website. Originally the church had hoped to be back in-person for Advent with a 25 person cap (including the pastor and musicians) on attendance. That all changed with the news that COVID-19 results are heading in the wrong direction in Carroll County and Georgia as they are in the rest of the country and world.
Merton’s prayer represents for me the reality of navigating the 2020 pandemic. This season in the life of the church, community, state, nation, and world is not going to end anytime soon. We must be in this fight together for the long-haul or else the waves will continue to crash and we will continue to have people die or have irreparable damage done to their bodies and spirits after they get sick from the virus.
A blogger and speaker that I follow (Jeff Chu http://byjeffchu.com) has developed a church-related designation for each day of the Pandemic. Today, November 23rd is the 173rd Day after Coronatide. This seasonal name is a play on words with the original “tide” being Christmastide (time between Christmas Eve and Epiphany) or Yuletide. In 2020 it somehow seems appropriate to name the unknown season in such a manner.
As I reflect on the decision the church leaders and I made on March 14th to discontinue in-person worship and meetings at Presbyterian Community Church of the Rockies (PCCR), I am once again reminded that we had no idea how long we would be in this time of pandemic. As the days turned into weeks and then months the reality hit me and hit the majority of the congregation. This pandemic wasn’t going to end quickly. Initial thoughts about being back in the sanctuary for Pentecost were quickly tossed aside. So Coronatide continues today with no end in sight.
While the pandemic has turned our world upside down, I believe that we are called to make a choice. Mourning or lamenting what has been lost is perfectly appropriate. In the midst of that I urge you dear reader to remember the advice found in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Verses one and four are quite timely as we walk this unknown road together. For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven… a time to weep, and a time to laugh; and a time to dance.
Right now, we are in the season of COVID-19 (Coronatide). While we don’t know when it will happen, I believe that we will emerge from this pandemic like the nation emerged from the 1919-1920 Spanish Flu Pandemic. In the meantime, our faith communities are being challenged to live out the Christmas promise of hope, love, joy, and peace in new and innovative ways. May we be guided by the Spirit as she leads us by the right road.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
As I reflect on this anniversary
Mom waited until I returned from Colorado
I told her I loved her just after midnight on the 22nd
Then the call came from Denise to come to Mom’s bedside
By the time I got there, her last breath had been taken
Three years later and we still mourn
Yet we are also thankful for the gift of her life
We love you, Mom
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
“When one breaks the law to resist the probability of nuclear war, one is not just breaking the law . . . one is upholding the one law from which all decent and just law derives: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’” — Philip Berrigan
Too often when the church has used the passage from Matthew 25:31-46 the focus has been on judging the goats and sending them into eternal punishment while the righteous will gain eternal life. (Matthew 25:46) Instead of looking at this parable through the lens of personal salvation, I believe we should look at both Matthew 25:31-46 and Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 through the lens of our responsibilities as a people of faith to the larger world and all of God’s people. To do this means that we must take Genesis 1:27 seriously. So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
In Ezekiel we see the comparison between God and the good shepherd which echoes Psalm 23. Jesus would later use that analogy to describe his own ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Ezekiel was writing in the context of the diaspora or scattering of the people of Israel. The kings of Israel had been charged with Shepherding God’s children and that history went all the way back to Samuel anointing Saul as the first King of Israel. The people wanted a king because everyone else in the region had one. For some reason, this reminds me of the childhood argument “but EVERYONE else has one” or “but EVERYONE else gets to do it.” Were the people pouting or did they somehow feel inferior to their neighbors? God only knows (literally) but history would prove that this was the wrong answer. Over time the kings would foul things up and the result was the land being conquered and the people being exiled and enslaved. They weren’t exactly the picture of a perfect or even a good shepherd.
Ezekiel shares God’s promise with the people that they would be gathered together and brought home. God will, according to Ezekiel, judge the people/flock. The judgment will be between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats. This judgment would not only be a judgment of the “shepherds,” it will be a judgment of the people. This is indeed troublesome for me, but understandable in the context of the original setting. Just as Joshua told the people to choose this day whom they would serve, the gods and idols, or the Lord God who brought them out of the land of Egypt; the people of the exile had chosen whom they would worship while away from their home. The sheep were regathered but only the ones who had kept their allegiance to the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would be “saved”.
A bit earlier in the passage Ezekiel said that the Shepherd (God) would bring them to good grazing land (again, there are parallels to Psalm 23). Additionally, the promise of the Shepherd (God) is to seek the lost, bring back the strayed, bind up the injured, and strengthen the weak. (Ezekiel 35:14-16) Who were the fat and the strong at the end of verse 16? The ones who will be fed with God’s justice. That would be the ruling elite and those who bowed to their captors and abandoned the people they were charged with caring for. They had abandoned their people in order to save their skins and cozy up with the Empire.
When we turn to Matthew 25:31-46, we once again see judgment. Jesus was very clear about the judgment criteria and why some had ignored their calling. The goats had chosen to take care of themselves in a “me first” sort of way instead of caring for others. This applied to the religious and ruling elite as well as to the rest of God’s children. The criteria centered around their treatment of others. Did you feed the hungry? Did you give the thirsty water? Did you welcome the stranger? Did you clothe the naked? Did you care for those who were sick? Did you visit and care for the prisoner? While the “self-righteous me-first” goats wondered aloud where the Son of Man had been, those with servant hearts had done the work of God without even knowing that they were serving the Son of Man.
Friends, we are called to be servants, not self-serving. Instead of taking the “me first” approach, we are called to take the “us” approach that includes all of God’s children (Imago Dei). The Presbyterian Church (USA) has taken the “us” approach in their call to the churches to be a Matthew 25 church. The denomination is challenging us to see this as an issue of Social Justice where caring for all of God’s children should be our primary concern.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a good day, Lord
Continuing to get our house set up
Unpacking and organizing it all
It is a blessing to see progress
Then to relax in the evening together
Such a blessing for my sweetheart and for me
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
“Now we can no longer just give answers and explanations, we have to become the answer, and our own transformation is the only credible explanation. It seems we must tame and integrate the demon of violence within ourselves before we have anything to say to anybody else.” — Richard Rohr
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Thank you for your guidance today Spirit
Thank you for your incredible gifts
For my partner in life, love, and ministry
For our home and our calling
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
“Nonviolent strategy calls those who are now faithful to the good present inside them, to awaken the good inside their adversaries who at that same moment serve violence or injustice. This dynamic is built on confidence in the divine power of the good and its unity.” — Alain J. Richard
