At the finish line

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
(1st Corinthians 9:24)



I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2nd Timothy 4:7)


Lord Christ, St. Paul coaches us up and cheers us on to the finish line. There’s an Olympic refrain, but I’ve noticed something significant during a decade of nursing home visits. Most of us don’t sprint to the finish line and break the tape. Most of us don’t get to finish on our own terms.

We may limp or crawl to the finish line. We could be in a wheel chair, hospital bed or alone at home.

Holy Spirit, help me to build up my spiritual muscles. Indeed, they need to be in top form as my other parts begin to wear out or fail.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46:4)

Father, my confidence is not in my running ability. It’s in your abiding care. Amen.

Photo credit: Race of Grace

Turning the other cheek

From Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:38-45)

An Eye for an Eye

You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Love for Enemies

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

Lord Christ, you set the bar high with turn the other cheek and love your enemies. I’m stretching, grasping, but it seems out of reach.

I don’t believe you’re recruiting Christian doormats or punching bags. This is a call to reign in the impulses for retaliation and vengeance, to consider the collateral damage of striking back. Are we peacemakers or pugilists?

In business, we might turn the other cheek if the legal fees are prohibitive, but it’s not our default response.

In sports, there’s always payback. It’s clubhouse etiquette.

And politics, that’s blood sport: two eyes for an eye, two teeth for a tooth.

With me, I’m afraid it’s a practiced hypocrisy. I can appear to turn the other cheek as I fold in a little sarcasm. I’m very good with a subtle verbal punch.

The Message speaks for you, Jesus:

In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.

(Matthew 5:48)

Holy Spirit, help me learn to forgive as God forgives, to love as God loves.* I’m inclined toward combat; create in me a peacemaker’s heart. Amen.

* - William Barclay

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At the well with Jesus

Lord Christ, there’s a powerful line from your encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Returning to her village she exclaims:

He told me everything I’ve ever done.
(John 4:39)

It’s the same for us. You know our mistakes and misdeeds, our guilt or lack thereof, our wounds and our burdens.

I’m conflicted. There’s a longing for Divine intimacy with the wounds and burdens, but I go into hiding over the mistakes and guilt…as though you might not notice. Psalm 139 reminds me otherwise:

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely...

(Psalm 139:1-4)

Jesus, you know me inside-out. Forgive the mistakes. Remove the guilt. Heal the wounds. Lift the burdens. And use me as an agent of your grace. Amen.

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Of Law & Love

Dear God, early in our journey I was looking for rules and order. (It
 probably had a lot to do with being a young parent!)

 I discovered that through Bible study.

But I always found refuge. I always felt love.



And both represent Biblical truth: your law and your love.





Father, early in our journey I used my interpretation of your rules as a 
cudgel - not to nudge others, but to judge others. And I lacked a corresponding inclination to share your love. Signs of an immature faith. 





Lord Christ, you have taught me that the Bible's high standards must be
 tempered with love and mercy. Your methods were teaching, healing,
 service, and ultimately, sacrifice. You did not travel Palestine as an 
enforcer. The "fruits of the Spirit" are not stridency, harshness or a 
closed mind.



St. Paul famously lists them:

...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
 gentleness and self-control.

(Galatians 5:22-23)



The Message amplifies:

...things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We
 develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the
 heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and 
people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to 
force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. 


Holy Spirit, I am challenged to take this beyond sentiment or ethical
 concept…to work out the implications in every detail of my life.* Signs of a maturing faith, I pray. Amen.




* - from The Message translation, Galatians 5:25

Illustration credit

Dropped Calls

St. Paul writing to the Colossians:

…clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (3:12)

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts… (3:15)

Lord, I’m rarely overcome with road rage (Thanks be to God!) but dropped cell phone calls usually provoke an oath.

Lots of dropped calls.

Lots of oaths.

Yes, it’s in the privacy of my car - in that isolation chamber on wheels - but I don’t want to be that flailing, frustrated guy with the animated, red face. It’s just a few degrees short of road rage.

Lord Christ, St. Paul taught Timothy that your patience was unlimited, endless. (1 Timothy 1:16) That’s the standard.

Holy Spirit, intervene in that millisecond where the synapses take paths of anger or patience. I need to work on my “unflappability.” I’ll practice in the car and try to apply it upon disembarking.

…and thank you, Lord: with you there’s never a dropped call. Amen.

Of Service & Sacrifice

I have recently collected these quotes. Countercultural advice - worth its weight in gold:

God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not by how many people serve you.  Rick Warren

If you seek power before service, you'll neither get power, nor serve. If you seek to serve people more than to gain power, you will not only serve people, you will gain influence. That's very much the way Jesus did it.  Tim Keller

Let no one come to you without feeling better or happier. 
Mother Teresa

…and my prayer:

Lord Christ, Luke tells us you “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52) Those were your teenage years. I’m pushin' sixty and forever playing catch-up. It reminds me of a memorable line from my Bible study: We don’t need more information. We need transformation.*

You set the standard for servanthood and sacrifice. From acts of healing to words of forgiveness. From foot washing to the Crucifixion.

Your words, Jesus:
Let the senior among you become like the junior; let the leader act the part of the servant. Who would you rather be: the one who eats the dinner or the one who serves the dinner? You’d rather eat and be served, right? But I’ve taken my place among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22:26-27, The Message)

I have come to realize that wisdom grows in the soil of humility, but I have an erosion problem. Service of self intrudes upon servanthood. Sacrifice competes with comfort.

Your words, Jesus:
Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage. 
(Matthew 20:26-28, The Message)

Lord Christ, I’m often held hostage by my bad habits, negative thoughts and selfish ways. I pray for release and transformation. I pray for your Spirit of humility and servanthood. Amen.

* - Colin Sinclair
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Pentecost

The music for Pentecost at Church of the Good Shepherd featured a flute and harp. It was beautiful and uplifting. Ethereal. It was, as intended, evocative of the Holy Spirit.

Of course, one’s experience of God is like a fingerprint. Unique. God meets us in different ways, in different places. That’s why the Holy Spirit is variously described as a violent wind or tongues of fire. St. Paul experienced it as lightening, but Jesus received the Spirit as a dove.

Given my broadcasting background, a preferred metaphor for the Holy Spirit is God’s radio station, a divine frequency, transmitting at maximum power, 24/7.

Unfortunately, our antennas are prone to malfunction. Most of us experience (self-induced) interference and static. We are resistant, but God is persistent in his attempts to reach us. Raise your antenna, find the frequency and tune in!

I reprise a prayer about the Holy Spirit from 2010…

The Holy Spirit, Giaquinto, 1750s

Lord,

It isn’t lost on me that Acts of the Apostles commences with your Spirit. I note the significance.

The Holy Spirit: Hard to define. Difficult to pin down. But like the wind, we can hear it. We can feel it.

Whatever the Biblical image or metaphor - wind, fire, water, dove - I pray for a full measure of the Holy Spirit…infusing every aspect of my life, propelling my faith and faithful witness.

Lord Christ, let me hear it. Allow me to feel it…that I may act. Dare I ask, that I might act as an Apostle! Amen.

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