Put not your trust in rulers...

That’s the second verse of Psalm 146: Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of the earth, for there is no help in them. 

We chanted the Psalm in church on Sunday. The Lectionary selection was surprisingly appropriate as we recuperate from last week’s election and the 2012 campaign!

Lord of nations & history,

I’m kneeling in the debris of another American election campaign: the robocalls, talking heads and incessant TV ads. It was a feast of fear and a famine of truth.

…but my glass is half full!

Power is transferred peaceably. We may disagree about the outcome, but troops are not stationed in the streets. Our freedom - and this imperfect democracy - are blessings not shared across the globe. Thanks be to God!

Lord Christ, we talk a lot about hope in our elections: hope for change, for better times, for the nation’s better angels to prevail.

…but the new day and common purpose never quite materialize. In our day, the thirst for political power seems to trump public service.

Therefore, my hope is not in a party, its platform or candidates. I place my hope in you: your word, your promises, your power, your presence.

St. Paul tells us that our citizenship is in heaven. (from Philippians 3:20) And the author of Hebrews writes: We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. (6:19)

Let us live as citizens of your Kingdom, first…and Americans, second. Then, our great hope will be realized! Amen.

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Rich Fool...or Rich Toward God

Lord Christ, Luke is wearin' me down. I'm inclined to dismiss your parable of the rich fool. (Luke 12:13-21) Now, I'm wondering: Am I that guy?

Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. (v15)

The rich fool was successful, became obsessed with his wealth and turned to hoarding. I'm not that guy, right? Well...

I have ample resources, yet I always seem to want more. Retirement planning gnaws at me. Is this an update of the rich fool? Am I blinded to a consumer culture addiction?

I don't believe you oppose success or planning, but materialism subtly hardens the heart and pushes Kingdom priorities aside. I quickly forget the source of my blessings.

It's time to cultivate contentment, to build trust in your provision. Holy Spirit, intervene. Amen.


Artwork credit
Scripture Union, Learn Contentment

Meek & Mild? Not!

Lord Christ, 

I've been unduly influenced by the famous hymn "Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild." That was not your demeanor at dinner with the Pharisees in chapter eleven of Luke. (Luke 11:37-54)

It seems that you embarrassed the host and insulted the guests. There was nothing meek and mild about your six woes rebuke of the "greedy, wicked" church leaders: 

You keep meticulous account books...but manage to find loopholes for getting around basic matters of justice and God’s love. (v42, The Message)

You load people down with rules and regulations...but never lift even a finger to help. (v46)

Would I get the same verbal beat down if you came to my cookout?

Woe to your hypocrisy, double standards and discrimination. Woe to you seekers of status and comfort.  

Turn both your pockets and your hearts inside out and give generously to the poor... (v41)

Message received. Amen.


Artwork credit
Scripture Union, Polite Company?
Charles Wesley's Gentle Jesus, Meel & Mild

Nation Building

Sovereign Lord,

We hear much about nation building in the Middle East. Freedom and democracy are difficult to export. I shouldn’t be surprised. The Old Testament is a story of blessings squandered.

You did a lot of nation building, but that work always came undone. Empires rose. Empires fell. Great leaders and kings - inspired by you - did great things. But they lost their way, or their heirs strayed, and kingdoms collapsed amid intrigue, war and exile.

Lord Christ, you adjusted the strategy. It’s not about leaders or borders, national wealth or military might. It’s about hearts, anywhere and everywhere, hearts devoted to you. Surely, you control history, but it’s the human heart you seek.

I pledge my allegiance - my heart - to your teaching, to your authority, to your Kingdom.

Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near. (Luke 10:11) Amen.


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Children & the Kingdom of God

…if we listen to Christian voices in the public square, there is far more passion about unborn children than the well-being of children once they are born.

I heard that bracing, prophetic voice on a Day1 podcast from the Rev. Dr. Barbara Lundblad of Union Theological Seminary in NYC. She was preaching on Mark 9:30-37 where Jesus interacts with children in his hometown…

He sat down and summoned the Twelve. "So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all." He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, "Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me - God who sent me." (v35-37, The Message) The subject comes up again in Mark 10: "Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom." (v14)

More excerpts from Lundblad’s sermon…

Children in Mark are not symbols of holiness or innocence, but more often they are the victims of poverty and disease. Jesus brings the child from the margins into the very center. This child is not a symbol but a person, a little person easily overlooked, often unseen and unheard.

That day in Capernaum Jesus held a little child in his arms and brought the words of heaven down to earth. I can imagine Jesus whispering in the child's ear: "You are God's Beloved Child."

It’s a source of solace and pride that my three adult children work with children and young people. It’s a reason to pray as well...


Lord Christ,

Bless the work of my kids as they work with and for children.

They see the consequences of poverty, family dysfunction, bad choices, developmental gaps and disease.

Support them in their vocations: education, social development and public health.

…with compassion, perseverance, enthusiasm, creativity, wisdom and gracious spirits.

Work through them, Jesus, with your healing touch and trans-formational power.

…for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 

Amen.

My daughter, Lauren, standing before Christo de la Concordia, the world’s largest statue of Jesus, in Cochabamba, Boliva. It’s a lighthearted moment, but a most serious challenge: Imitate Christ.

Taste & See

Lord of the universe, Lord of humankind, 

It’s raining. My mood is overcast, too. Psalm 34 consoles... 

The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (v15)

But I’m fixated on the news: war in Syria, Iranian nukes, a murdered ambassador, Muslim protests, our very own deceit-filled politicians...

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. (v7)

And today’s Eucharist was opportune...

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. (v8)

Lord Christ, come close. Encamp in my head and heart. 

Deliver. Protect. Sustain. Amen. 

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Bible study: Take the Taste Test

Expressions of Faith

Father, forgive me.

I was uncomfortable in the restaurant. My server had ample piercings and tattoos. She was too chatty and familiar. But then - with great enthusiasm - she told me about her acceptance to seminary. 

Ouch!

That restaurant revelation punctuates my study of Acts. The first Christians had to get over themselves and their “chosen people” status. They had to reach beyond custom and tradition. Saint Peter was compelled to baptize “unclean” Gentiles. (Acts 8, 10) The founders of our faith had to abbreviate their rules and regulations…and rely on the Grace of God. (Acts 15)

I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right…they have received the Holy Spirit just as we have. 
(from Acts 10:34-47)

In what we call post-Christian America, what’s the complexion of your greater Kingdom? Am I clinging to the past or advancing that Kingdom, in attitude and action?

Holy Spirit, help me to see past the body art, the shocks of purple hair, the sagging pants and other fashion forward expressions that elude my appreciation. 

I will rely on the Grace of God. I will be surprised by the Grace of God. Amen.

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