Wednesday, May 1, 2024

“Birds find nooks and crannies in your house, sparrows and swallows make nests there. They lay their eggs and raise their young, singing their songs in the place where we worship…   How blessed they are to live and sing there!”? (Psalm 84: 3 -4, The Message Bible)

               There are several advantages in worshipping on-line at home. The easy chair is way more comfortable than a wooden pew. Dress is very causal – even PJs. I can have a cup of coffee during the service. I can go to the bathroom without everybody knowing where I am going. (Probably shouldn’t have drunk that second cup of coffee.) I can converse with Susan. If I am feeling grumpy, I don’t have to inflict myself on others. If I had false teeth (I don’t) I wouldn’t have to put them in. Yes, as nice as it is to actually fellowship with others, live and in person, there are some benefits to the on-line worship experience.

                Recently, I have discovered another.

                Our bird feeder is just outside the front window of our living room. It didn’t get all that much use over the winter. I had purchased a squirrel-proof feeder and I feared that maybe it was also bird proof. But over the Spring, it has become a popular place. On the last few Sunday mornings, as we worshipped at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, there were grackles, cardinals, chickadees, juncos and even a pair of purple finches. It was quite the entertaining sideshow – an affirmation of God’s beautiful Creation, and in some ways, just as much a part of some good worship as a good sermon or a poignant prayer, or wonderful choral music; birds singing their songs in the place where we worship. Sort of like living stained glass.

                Psalm 84 is a praise hymn. The poet is overjoyed in finding himself in the sanctuary of God. “I’ve always longed to live in a place like this; always dreamed of a room in your house, where I could sing for joy to God-alive!” (v.2, TMB) Although not used here, the word ‘sanctuary’ seems implied; a place of safety, beauty, peace, a protected space, a sacred and holy place. “How lovely is your dwelling place.” (v.1, NLT)

                Even the birds find safe refuge under its eaves. Perhaps, Jesus had this Psalm in mind when he said, “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?” (Matthew 6: 26, NLT)

                The Sanctuary is a safe place for the smallest, the weakest, the most vulnerable, the defenceless, the most needy, the “least of us”. It is not the place where we get to vent our prejudices, voice our judgements, express our superiority over others, shut the windows and doors on those who seek our welcome and acceptance. Sanctuary should say to people, “You are safe here while under our roof. No harm can come to you.”

                Although I want honest and authentic worship, I don’t want to have guilt, shame and sin heaped upon me relentlessly. That is oppressive and falls short of the Good News of Love, Hope, Grace and Mercy. When I come to church with my warts, sins and perplexities, I need the Balm of Gilead to soothe the sores, the stings, the pains, the burdens. For the hour in which I worship, I am needing the compassion of God to rest upon my soul and spirit. I need to have my empty spirit and mind fed with the truth and nourishment of the Good News that comes with knowing Jesus Christ. I need to come under the church’s roof and  be invited to renew and refresh my relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

                If I actually showed up to be in church in person, in my PJs and slippers, a cup of coffee in hand, looking bedraggled and grumpy, my prayer would be that the sanctuary would take over, I would be welcomed, I would be fed with the Word of God,  and would leave the place filled with joy, peace and hope. “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40: 31, NLT)

                “God sees the little sparrow fall; it meets his tender view. If God so loves the little birds, I know He loves me too.”

Dale

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

“But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.  I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.” (Psalm 52:8, New Living Translation)

               Last week, the City came along and chopped down our ash tree on the front lawn. We didn’t receive any notice that they were planning to do so. It was not a healthy tree. It was the last to leaf in the Spring and the first to drop its leaves in the Fall.  They had been treating it for ash borers over the last few years.  But, every year, more and more of its branches did not leaf and it was a sorry sight.

                It was a good-sized tree but it took the workers less than a half hour to fell it, chop it up in the wood chipper and be gone, leaving little trace of its existence, but for the stump and some sawdust. Susan commented on how long it takes to grow a tree and yet how quickly it is chopped down and gone. It was situated right beside the front sidewalk and was a very popular tree for dogs to leave their pee-mails. I’m sure they will miss it, too.

                We’re hoping that the City will plant a new tree or two to replace it.

                In the Creation stories of Genesis, God takes great delight in planting trees. “The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit.” (Genesis 2:9) Throughout scriptures, trees are a symbol of prosperity, abundance, health, vitality. “But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” (Psalm 1: 2 -3) Trees are a place of refuge and safety. “The birds nest beside the streams and sing among the branches of the trees.” (Psalm 104:12) They can be symbols of longevity, strength, hope, renewal and blessing. “I will plant trees in the barren desert— cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine.” (Isaiah 41:19)

                Yet a unhealthy tree is a wasted and forlorn thing, good only for the woodpile. “The people are like the dead branches of a tree, broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots. Israel is a foolish and stupid nation, for its people have turned away from God. Therefore, the one who made them will show them no pity or mercy.” (Isiah 27:11)

                Jesus said, “A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.  Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matthew 7: 17 -20) In a puzzling but prophetic action, he once cursed a fig tree for its lack of fruitfulness. He told a parable about a barren fig tree which owner wanted to chop down until the gardener persuaded him to allow the tree to be fertilized and nurtured.

                Fruitfulness is Jesus’ expectation of us all. What does that look like? “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Ephesians 5: 22 -23) Good works, good deeds, good words, good actions – all are part of a hale and healthy faith. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

                We are nurtured by the life of Jesus Christ so that we may indeed be fruitful. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15: 4 -5)

                Perhaps we all can’t be mighty oaks or majestic pine trees or fruitful apple trees. But we can be straight and tall like a maple tree or well-rooted and offer our shade like a chestnut tree. “But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.” (Psalm 92:12)

Dale

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15: 13 -17, New Living Translation)

                 With my deepest apologies to Joseph Scriven…
                        What friends we have in Facebook, All our moods and cares we share.
                        What a privilege to carry every thought everywhere.

                Every week, I get many, many requests to add someone to my Friends’ list on Facebook. It’s not that I am all that popular but this blog has a wide audience which I deeply appreciate. I also deeply appreciate the requests. Each person would like a response. They seem like nice people. But I don’t often “accept” them, mainly because I could never keep up with the conversations which they so richly and understandably deserve. I am also a private person and feel uncomfortable sharing personal information with strangers which is itself a sad statement about this day and age of identity theft and the like. Once, one of the people, whom I did accept, relentlessly tried to sell my bit coins. I also have a few people whom I do know but whose accounts have been hi-jacked by AI or something and they too, under the phony guise of friendship, try to sell me stuff.

So, apologies to all of you, I seldom go too deep into the Facebook catalogue of Friends. But thank you for asking! It is great to hear from you! Blessings on you all!

Jesus was into choosing friends long before Facebook. In our text from John’s Gospel, Jesus describes his friendship with the disciples. He has confided in them the plan of God to save the world. He has shared with them the Good News of God’s Love and Mercy. He has broken bread with them, washed their feet, and given them the keys to the Kingdom. His friendship has embraced them even in their worst moments as disciples, offering second chances and complete forgiveness.

All friendships are two-way relationships. Just as there is certain responsibility if I accept someone on Facebook as a friend, Jesus seeks the disciples’ reciprocity in their relationship with them. Jesus asks them to do as he has taught and commanded them under the most important of commandments: Love each other. But more than just that (and that alone would be amazing), Jesus’ disciples are to go out into the world and bear fruit. They are to show that they are friends with Jesus through their compassionate deeds, good works and sharing of the Good News.

                Real friendships are not as easy as a click on Facebook. They are not casual. They are not flippant. When we unfriend someone for real, it is hurtful and harmful. Sadly, I have done that. Real friendships should be able to accept the ugly along with the good with our friends. Jesus knew these twelve men were far from perfect. Their friendship didn’t carry them through to the Cross. They betrayed him; they denied him; they abandoned him. Yet, they were among the first to experience the Resurrection and to encounter him in deeply personal ways. He prepares a breakfast for them and once again, creates new bonds of friendship and fellowship. All is forgiven! Amazing grace, indeed!

                Let’s be careful here, though. Jesus isn’t our pal, our buddy, our BFF (well, maybe he is our BFF but not in some frivolous way). But Jesus is a friend who understands us and accepts us as we often are, who encourages us to better than we often are, and speaks honestly to us when we are less than what we should be.

I have found Jesus to be a great conversationalist at times, but he expects me to listen and pay attention. He speaks his mind, shares his expectations, holds me accountable, demands my best, seeks my welfare, knows my heart, mind and soul. I can talk to him about anything and everything. “So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” (Romans 5:11)

            So, thank you, Joseph Scriven for these words:   

                What a friend I have in Jesus,
                All our sins and griefs to bear.
                What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.
                O what peace we often forfeit.
                O what needless pain we bear.
                All because we do not carry
                Everything to God in prayer.

Dale

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.” “What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people.  But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago. (Luke 24: 17 21, New Living Bible)

                “Ain't no sunshine when she's gone/It's not warm when she's away/Ain't no sunshine when she's gone/And she's always gone too long/Anytime she's goes away” (Bill Withers)

                How was your eclipse watching?  I was interested in this unique phenomenon, but not absorbed as some. I didn’t purchase any appropriate eyewear. But at the peak time here in our city, I did venture out into the backyard into the eerie, radically reduced daylight. Being the philistine that I am, I didn’t have any spiritual experiences or epiphanies as some have claimed. Nevertheless, it was a cool interaction with the cosmos. I can’t wait for the next one in 2044!

                Only Luke tells the story of the two friends walking back to the town of Emmaus from Jerusalem. We don’t know their names but the sadness was written across their face.  There is no sunshine for these two, no warmth – Jesus is gone away. His tomb is empty but there is no comfort in that fact. They are hurting, confused, forlorn, shocked, their hopes dashed. What happened threes days ago was a total eclipse of the heart (as the Bonnie Tyler song goes).

                “Ain't no sunshine when she's gone/Only darkness every day/Ain't no sunshine when she's gone/And this house just ain't no home/Anytime she goes away.”

                Sadness was written across their faces. The stranger who came along side them could sense their broken hearts. The Message Bible tells us, “They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend.”

                We can totally identify with these two men. We all have gone through eclipses in our lives where the shadows and eerie light have blocked the sunlight of love, hope, security, peace and harmony. We can become lost in the dark. Jesus said, “But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness.” (Matthew 6:23) In other words, when hopelessness, despair, unending anxiety, paralyzing fear threaten to take over our lives, we are lost to the darkness, we are lost in the darkness.

                But wait, at the very beginning of the Greatest Story Ever Told, we were promised, “the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.” (Matthew 4:16) That Light boldly came forth out of a cold, dark tomb as the Risen Saviour. He is the One who declared, “I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.” (John 12:46)

                The two men did not recognize Jesus. He would be the last person on earth whom they would have expected ever to see again. We’re told that their eyes were kept from recognizing him. Their grief and disillusionment eclipsed the presence of Jesus. But Jesus doesn’t give up on them  or go to find more amenable company. He stays on the path with them, engages them in conversation, interprets for them the significance of what is happening. The critical moment came in the breaking of bread with the stranger – a simple, normal, familiar custom. Now we’re told that their eyes which had been blinded to his true identity were suddenly opened and they recognized him. “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” (v.32)

                The Living Lord is with us every step of the way whether we know it or not. We may find him on the roads of life or in the simple moments of fellowship and friendship when we realize we are never alone, never abandoned. “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.” (Psalm 23: 4)

                I can see clearly now the rain is gone
                I can see all obstacles in my way
                Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
                It's gonna be a bright (bright)
                Bright (bright) sunshiny day. (Johnny Nash)

Dale

Wednesday, April 3, 2024 – Easter: Jesus asks! Tough Questions for a Resurrection Faith

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” (John 20: 15, New Revised standard Version)

               It had been a very long, hard, trying, upsetting, mournful weekend for people like Mary, those who had followed Jesus, right up his crucifixion. Nothing much else could go wrong.  Yet now, to Mary’s dismay, the tomb is empty, Jesus’ body not there, no clue as to what had transpired. For Mary, it is the last straw to a miserable experience.  She is already broken-hearted and now she cannot even pay her last respects to her friend and teacher. She does what many of us might do in the face of great sorrow – she breaks into tears. Under the circumstances, it is understandable, reasonable, necessary, unsurprising.

                Then a voice from behind her speaks to her and asks, “Why are you weeping?”

                What causes us to cry out in hurt, sorrow, loss, bereavement?  Do we weep in the face of war, brutality, children’s deaths, crimes against humanity itself?  Do we weep for lost opportunities, broken relationships, personal failures, moral failures, or broken promises? Do we weep because of illnesses and diseases, infirmities, frailties of mind, body and spirit? Do we weep for those we have lost but can never forget? Why are you weeping?

                Some might ask, in light of what we see and read on the news, why are you not weeping?

                Like Mary, in the face of grief and sorrow, disappointment and disillusionment, we look for the logical reasons, the simple explanations, the obvious choices to justify our tears. The voice belongs to a mere gardener, Mary assumes, and he has taken the body away. “Let the dead bury their own dead,” Jesus once said. Mary is dead in spirit and she wishes to deal with Jesus’ death in her own way. As some say, no one has ever seen a dead person come to life. Mary had no illusions that this time was any thing different.

                But it was different. Radically different. Transformatively different. “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’” (20:16)

                He called her by name and her world was turned inside out and upside down. Previously, Jesus had made the commitment, “So you have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:22) Mary was the first to experience the total reversal of loss and sorrow which the Resurrection brings to us. “Your pain will turn to joy.” (16:20)

                Because Jesus knows each of us, by name, then he also knows what makes us weep, what makes us sad, what causes our griefs. But because he knows each of us by name, he interacts with our lives and lifts - raises us - out of our despair and despondency. The Risen Lord offers us an alternative to sorrow. The Risen Jesus offers us a life-line tethered to hope and God’s compassionate, comforting Love. The Risen Christ reveals himself as One wo conquers even death on a cross and thereby frees us all from deadly sorrow and suffering.

                Jesus gives us a foretaste of the future in which there will be no more weeping, no more tears.

                “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?...  No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 35 -39)

             I come to the garden alone,
            While the dew is still on the roses;
            And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
            The Son of God discloses.

            And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
            And He tells me I am His own,
            And the joy we share as we tarry there,
            None other has ever known. (C. Austin Miles)

 Dale

Wednesday, March 27, 2024 – Holy Week: Jesus Asks! Tough questions for a Lenten Faith

At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15; 34, New Revised Standard Version)

            Here it is – the culmination of the Lenten season, ending in the most human of agonized cries in the most extreme form of terrible human suffering, “Why God have you abandoned me?”

Where is God when our world is falling apart? Where is God when our loved ones are dying from cancer and diseases?  Where is God when there are children dying in wars? Where is God when we can’t get out of our deep anxieties and despair? Where is God when we are caught in some spiral of self-destruction? Where is God when others abuse us, hurt us, use us, shame us?

 Why, O Lord, won’t you do something? You are omnipotent; so, fix it, change it, remove it, transform it. Where did you go? Where are you hiding? Why are you ignoring us? Why have you forsaken us?

“O Lord, how long will this go on?  Will you hide yourself forever?”  (Psalm 89: 46, New Living Translation)

Jesus speaks for all humanity from the cross. He identifies with our deepest pains, sorrows, sufferings, failures, dying and despair. From the cross, Jesus also looks for answers, relief, some divine response that might make sense of it all. “Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.” (Hebrews 2: 18) Yet, like Job of the Old Testament, we are still left with questions about the relationship between God and ourselves when we are suffering.

There are no easy, simple, black and white answers. “My heart is troubled and restless. Days of suffering torment me.” (Job30: 27) Like Jesus, Job refused to let God off the hook and so persisted in questioning God’s motives, God’s purposes, God’s fairness. I think we are encouraged to persist in our conversations or even arguments with God when we are most in need of God’s intervention and intercession. Remember the persistent widow who wouldn’t allow the arrogant judge to ignore her. Jesus sassed, “So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly!” (Luke 18: 7-8)

The crowd taunted Jesus that first Good Friday: “Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!” (Matthew 27:40) But that wasn’t to be. This was not the way it would end, for now. The cross was Jesus’ destiny, his work, his sacrifice. It must have pained God greatly to see his beloved Son in such agony. Yet, he allowed it for our sakes. “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.” (Romans 5:6) He suffered for us, in our place, so that we would have hope in the midst of our own human losses and sufferings. “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.” (Romans 8:18)

No one enjoys suffering of any kind. Not physical pain. Not mental anguish. Not grief. Not loss. Yet it is a part of our experience. No one gets through life unscathed. Wealth can’t protect us. Science can’t save us. Technology can’t help us. We are called upon to deal with suffering as best we can. For some, the existence of suffering becomes an argument that God doesn’t exist. But for us who believe, we hunger for God even in the midst of pain and suffering. We cling to God despite our questions or our fears and our confusion. We see Jesus in the moment of his agony and there, but with the grace of God, go you or I. But because of Jesus, even our crosses, our sufferings, our dying do not have the ultimate power to defeat us.

It is never easy to suffer. It will leave us with many questions and scars. Yet, hear Job who complains, out of the heart of all his anguish, when he needs help and no one answers; yet he fearlessly, boldly declares, “But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!” (Job 19: 25 -27) Or Paul who echoes Job, “But I am not ashamed of it (suffering), for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return. (2 Timothy 1:12)

Jesus Christ identifies with us from the cross. He is not silent. He is not resigned to his death. He is not simply meekly submissive even though he knows this death is his ministry for the world. He cries out for us all that God will hear and open the way to God’s Love and compassion.

“Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.” (Psalm 10:17)

Dale

Wednesday, March 20, 2024 – Lent Six: Jesus asks! Tough Questions for a Lenten Faith

Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.” (John 5: 1 -7, New Living Translation)

                Yikes! What a puzzling, terrifying and challenging question for Jesus to ask someone who had been suffering for 38 years. “Would you like to get well?” Jesus is usually so quick to heal, so generous with his love and mercy, so unjudgmental as to those whom he shows compassion, so limitless to give his time and energy.  I don’t know why Jesus chose this man out of the many who were there that day, all looking for healing, relief, remedy. Maybe he knew of the 38 years and that the man was overdue for some good news. But what a question to put to a long-suffering person!

                Let’s be clear about something. To some, the question may suggest that the man was at fault for his predicament or that he had some sort of choice in the matter. But I would argue that his suffering was very real. He was not faking it. It was not some figment of his imagination. He wasn’t trying to get sympathy or charity. He wasn’t some hypochondriac. His sickness, whatever it was, had kept him down on his mat for 38 years. There was nothing very “well” about this man, at all.

                If it was any of us, suffering many years of chronic pain or debilitating diseases or severe mental health issues or life-altering illnesses or tragic accidents leaving us deeply scarred or handicapped, we might take offence, understandably so, if we were asked such a question.  It just seems so unfeeling, so unjust, so callous, so cold…

                Jesus would have known all this and yet he still asks, “Would you like to get well?”

                Perhaps, it would do well to phrase the question somewhat differently. Can you imagine a life without all that pain? Or has it been so long that you are stuck in the suffering? Have you given up hope? Are you lost in the chaos of pain and suffering? Are you defeated, so overwhelmed that life has become one damnable thing after another? Debie Thomas wrote: “He sees a man whose hope has dwindled.  A man whose imagination has atrophied to such a point that he can’t even articulate what he wants for his body, his soul, or his future.” (Journey with Jesus)

                For a while, I facilitated a support group for those living with ALS and their primary care givers. Please note how I worded that, “living with ALS,” not dying from ALS or suffering from ALS. But living. Yes, there were plenty of tears and questions and no cures. But there was a vitality, a stubborn, pain-resistant joy that also brought much laughter, love and community. If you had asked any of them whether they would like to get well, of course, they would have answered yes, but they didn’t just give up; they lived as fully, and often defiantly, as they could. They taught me so much.

                Jesus is asking the man whether he could see beyond the limits of his infirmity. Did he have the grit to hope?  Did he have the spirit to endure? Did he have the ability to let go and let God?

                Debie Thomas wrote that the question is about the man’s “heart, his identity, and his desires: ‘What do you want?’” She then asks: “Has Jesus ever asked you this question?  Do you want to be made well from all that stymies, hobbles, paralyzes, and diminishes you?  Do you want to stand up?  Do you want to walk?  Do you want to move?”

                “And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.”  (Romans 8: 23, NLT)

                No one is saying that such a faith in great adversity is easy. No one is saying that such a hope against hope is a rosy panacea. No one is saying that such Good News immediately fixes our problems and sufferings. But, when we finish this story, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”, we are given a whole, grace-filled, new perspective on what it means to live and have our being and take a different direction from where we have been.

                “Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their suffering.”  (Isaiah 49:12, NLT)

Dale

Wednesday, March 13, 2024 – Lent Five: Jesus asks! Tough questions for a Lenten Faith

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.” “What is your request?” he asked. They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” (Mark 10: 35 – 39, New Living Translation)

                Be careful what you wish for.

                Some people treat their faith like it is a wishing well. They are always wanting to be rewarded for their piety and good works. (Not you or me, of course.) Some folk entreat God or Jesus to bless them and prosper them because they have been such good Christians and are worthy of God’s recognition and special treatment. (Not you or me, of course.) Some people seek God’s recognition and praise for their religious devotion and religious practices. (Not you or me, of course.)

                Thus, "Teacher, we have something we want you to do for us…  Arrange it, so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory—one of us at your right, the other at your left.” (The Message Bible) It was not the first time that the disciples argued about their place and possible reward at Jesus’ side. Once, Jesus caught them arguing about who will be the greatest in the Kingdom when it happens. (Mark 9: 33 -37) It appears that there was a lot of jostling for Jesus’ approval and recognition, wanting special privileges and positions, leading to jealousy and friction.

                But again, I say, be careful what you wish for.

                “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”

                The initial answer to Jesus’ question is that none of us has the capacity to suffer and die as Jesus did on the Cross. We are more apt, as did the disciples, to run away and hide in light of Jesus’ death. His sacrificial death is unique and one of a kind in terms of Jesus’ utter willingness to die to save us from our sins. This death is God’s work to redeem us and close the gap between God and ourselves. It is unrepeatable.

                Even so, there is more to it. We are called to sacrificial living or to sacrificial giving. We can’t duplicate what Jesus did on the Cross but we can replicate its service by putting ourselves on the front lines of compassion, service, love and good works, not for reward and glory but for sake of God’s Love in and through Jesus Christ. “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” (Mark 8: 34 -35, NLT)

                As Jesus said, both James and John would die as martyrs for their faith. James was beheaded by King Agrippa and John died in exile. Now, of course, I am not saying that we should be prepared to die a martyr’s death but that self-sacrifice is the mark of a loving follower of Jesus. When the disciples were arguing about their greatness, Jesus rebuked them, “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.” (Mark 9: 35, TMB)

                There is a news story, today, about an 80-year-old man who died from his injuries after being hit by a car after pushing a woman out of the way of that same car. A terrible tragedy, yet a noble sacrifice. Look, we all can’t be heroes but we can be the kind of folk who get on our knees and wash the feet of others, thereby sacrificing our pride, our self-importance, our superiority complexes.

                So yes, be careful what you wish for. There are no red carpets laid out for us on our way to the Kingdom. We are not the toast of the town. We are not the privileged and the elite. We are not meant to be celebrities or superstars. We are the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, called to serve, called to help, called to give a helping hand, called to put others ahead of ourselves. “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:40, NLT)

Dale

Wednesday, March 6, 2024 – Lent Four: Jesus asks! Tough Questions for a Lenten Faith

In the crowd that day there was a woman who for twelve years had been afflicted with hemorrhages. She had spent every penny she had on doctors but not one had been able to help her. She slipped in from behind and touched the edge of Jesus’ robe. At that very moment her hemorrhaging stopped. Jesus said, “Who touched me?” (Luke 8: 43 -44, The Message Bible)

                Don’t touch the stove – you’ll burn yourself.  Don’t touch that vase - you’ll break it. Don’t touch that – it’s doesn’t belong to you. Don’t touch that – it’s dirty. Don’t touch that – I’m not buying it for you. Don’t touch that – who knows where it’s been?  Don’t touch that – those pies are for the church supper tonight.  Don’t touch that – you’ll spoil your supper. Keep your hands to yourself. Don’t touch that – it’s not polite.

                The imperative command, not to touch, has been instilled in our minds since we began to toddle around in our diapers.  Some touching can indeed be inappropriate, unwelcome, troublesome, uninvited, rude, intrusive, even risky. During Covid, even welcome touches – hugging, kissing, embracing, handshaking – became taboo. It hasn’t totally recovered, even now. Besides, our hands are too full and busy with our cell phones to actually reach out and touch someone as that old Bell ad used to say.

                The woman in our Gospel story was untouchable according to the Levitical Law. Her bleeding made her a pariah in Jewish society. She shouldn’t have even been in that crowd that day. If the others had paid any attention to her or knew about her condition, they would have sent her away. She was regarded as unclean and therefore unfit for human contact. She would have to be very careful as to how she could approach Jesus with such a large crowd about her.

                “She slipped in from behind…”  But it was much more than just that. The text, to me, implies that she was scrambling on her hands and knees. Maybe she had been pushed down. Maybe she fell down in the crush. But I get the picture of a woman crawling in the dirt just so she might touch the hem of Jesus’ robe. How humiliating. How desperate. How demeaning.

                Yet, Jesus, despite the crowd, shows his deep, compassionate sensitivity towards others. “Who touched me?”  Perhaps the woman froze at that moment. Was she in trouble? Would Jesus scold her, reprimand her, mock her, take back the healing. If she kept quiet, perhaps Jesus would move on.

                But Jesus didn’t move on. “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” (v.46) I think that he needed to put a human face on the person. He needed to know the person first hand. He needed to create more of a relationship than a fleeting, anonymous touch. So, she came out of her exile, so to speak, and confessed her bold and audacious action, simply touching the hem of Jesus’ robe. There was no condemnation – just more abounding grace. She was made to feel welcome and joined the family of God “’Daughter,’ he said to her, ‘your faith has made you well. Go in peace.’” (v. 48)

                Reaching out to Jesus Christ is something that anyone, no matter what or no matter who, can do at any time. Whether we seem to be crawling along or lost in the crowd or bleeding inwardly, metaphorically, the Love of Christ is available to us. In suffering, in pain, in crisis, in emotional upheaval, even in dying, Jesus stands out as a source of power and mercy. He makes the difference in our well-being. He rescues us from the rigid standards of judgment and beliefs which make us out as outcasts. Jesus Christ draws us back into his fellowship as daughters and sons within the scope of his compassion and grace. When we reach out to Jesus, our faith finds a response. We are given a peace which passes all understanding.

                I used to think that the hymn, “He Touched Me” was too sentimental, too gushy.  But in light of this story, it makes total sense to me today.

            Shackled by a heavy burden
            'Neath a load of guilt and shame
            Then the hand of Jesus touched me
            And now I am no longer the same

            He touched me, oh, He touched me
            And oh, the joy that floods my soul
            Something happened, and now I know
            He touched me, and made me whole

 Dale

Wednesday, February 28, 2024 – Lent Three: Jesus Asks! Tough Questions for a Lenten Faith

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.  (Luke 10:36, NLT)

                 Jesus can be very wily with his questions.

                The “expert in religious law” (v.25) came to Jesus with the question, “who is my neighbour?” Being an expert, he knew as a pious, devout religious practitioner that he could list those whom weren’t his neighbours – the Samaritans, the Romans, the gentiles, the unclean, the chronically ill, some women. You let these sorts of people in and there goes the neighbourhood. He was probably wanting and expecting that Jesus, a good Jew, would confirm his biases.

                But Jesus turns the tables with the well-known parable of The Good Samaritan. We all know the story well. A man, a Jew most likely, was robbed and left to the side of the road. Two highly regarded religious persons walked by the man and crossed the road to avoid him. But “a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.” (v.33). In fact, he bound up the man’s wounds, put him on his donkey and got him to a hostel and paid for his room and board and care.

                Jesus turns the tables on the religious expert. Not “who is my neighbour?”, the emphasis being on the word “my” but rather who am I a neighbour to. The responsibility of neighbourliness is now yours and my obligation.  Who are you and I called to be neighbours to, with compassion, assistance, mercy and good works?

                To modernize the parable a bit. It would be like a despised Palestinian helping an Israeli or a despised Ukrainian farmer  helping a  Russian soldier. It would be like a despised transgender person helping a fundamentalist, Baptist pastor. It would be like the despised homeless person helping a rich person.

Most of us, if truth be told, would rather walk by, not get involved, let the government handle it.          

In Jesus’ world, i.e. his Kingdom, it simply doesn’t work this way. “ Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (vs.27) Jesus initiated the subject of neighbourliness just before he told the parable. It is one of the keys to eternal life. We know, elsewhere, he said that we should even love our enemies (Matthew 5:44) It would appear that Jesus has a very broad definition about who is our neighbour. But it begins within the heart of each one of us and spreads outward.

Another way of saying this is found in the Golden Rule: “Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.” (Matthew 7:12, The Message Bible)

It is very hard to wriggle out of these commands. Jesus always lays the responsibility upon you and me. It is hard to put limits and conditions to what Jesus is teaching. It is difficult to just love only those who appear like us.  We are charged with a task of loving anyone who crosses our paths, who needs a helping hand, who needs our acceptance, who simply needs to be loved because nobody else will.

“For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:14, NLT)

 And by neighbour, it means also those who are, sometimes, unlikable, different, disagreeable, unfriendly, broken, lost, despised by others, or those who have harmed us in the past, etc. etc. And not just some superficial observance, some legalistic approach, but with genuine, authentic, trustworthy love. “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3, NLT)

Mr. Rogers introduced his children’s TV show with the song, “Won’t you be  my neighbour?” but I think he meant it in a Jesus way:

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood
A beautiful day for a neighbor
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

It's a neighborly day in this beautywood
A neighborly day for a beauty
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you
I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you

Dale

 Wednesday, February 21, 2024 – Lent Two: Jesus Asks! Tough Questions for a Lenten Faith

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good…” (Mark 10:18, New Living Translation)

                 If we can’t call Jesus “good”, then who is? Or ever can be?  Everything we know about Jesus reveals his goodness.

                It is a bit of a puzzling question from Jesus. Perhaps, he was sensing a condescending, flattering attitude from the man who asked Jesus about what he had to do to inherit eternal life. One gets the sense in the Gospels that Jesus never needed to be idolized or adored by the public. This man seemed to be looking for pat answers in his quest and Jesus wanted to deflect the possible pandering to his own ego.

                Like last week, we are left again confronted with Jesus’ identity – who do we say he is?

                I can’t help but think of Jesus’ poignant “I am” pronouncements in John’s Gospel. I am, Jesus said, the bread of Life, the Light of the world, the gate for the sheep, the Good Shepherd, Son of God, the resurrection and the life, the Messiah, the way and the truth and the life.

                If none of those are good enough for us, then I am at a loss for words.

                Jesus didn’t look to be put on a pedestal and hero-worshipped. He was too good for that! He did not want to appear more important than God. “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.” (Philippians 2:6, NLT) Or “to be grasped” as some translations have it. Paul goes on to say, “When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” (vss 7 - 8) Rather inglorious, yet, in its most humiliating reality, very powerful and redemptive.

                Simply put, Jesus knew, understood and practiced the grace of humility, meekness and service. Goodness was more than mere reputation, people’s popular opinion or well-managed public relations. “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.” (Matthew 5: 5, NLT)

                His teachings on servanthood are a good example, “but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.” (Matthew 20:26, NKJV) We are inspired by his example when he washed his disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, a job that, normally, only servants would have done. Humble service is born out of his loving desire to make a difference in people’s lives, not counting the cost, not worrying about one’s status or looking for rewards and acclamations. Jesus’ modesty and humility were the cornerstones of his goodness and he didn’t need people’s adulation to do what he did. “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29, NLT)

                We have all had moments in our lives when we felt that we didn’t get enough credit for something we did. We are disappointed when others failed to notice what a good job we had done. A good pat on the back would have been appreciated or our names spoken out loud by the pastor or the team leader. A ‘thank-you’ would have been nice. It is human nature to want to be congratulated on a job well-done. “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ (Matthew 25:23, NLT)

                But such recognition is not the main motive for our endeavours. “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3, NLT)

Our goodness is predicated on serving as Jesus himself set the example. “I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.  I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.” (John 13: 15 -17, NLT)

                Maybe, others won’t notice your goodness but trust God that he will: “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.” (Revelation 2: 19, NLT)

Dale

Wednesday, February 14, 2024 – Ash Wednesday: Jesus Asks, Tough Questions for a Lenten Faith

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”  (Mark 8:29, New Living Translation)

                 Ash Wednesday and Lent were not really a thing when I was growing up in our Baptist church in Belleville, Ontario. But I have come to deeply appreciate Lent’s significance as an opportunity to engage Jesus of the Gospels more deeply.  He speaks to me there. Moreover, Jesus asks some of the people whom he encounters some very poignant questions. Those questions will be the focus for our encounters with Jesus over the Lenten season.

                “But who do you say I am?”

                Let’s get to the big question right off the bat. Who do we say Jesus is?

                There are limitless words, titles and names by which Jesus has been called, described and made known. Theologians have been searching, writing, deliberating, arguing for centuries over who Jesus is. Denominations have their dogmas and creeds.  Individuals have their own personal, favourite ideas.

                Jesus is a hard person to label with any one, singular impression. Just when you think you might have him pinned down, another facet of his character reveals itself. Just when we think we might know him, we discover that we haven’t scratched the surface of the Man.

                But we dare not give up in spiritual frustration. Answering the question about who we say he is is critically important. Sometimes, our answers might change slightly depending on the circumstances in our lives. That’s okay. It is stating the obvious, I know, but who Jesus is for you and me cuts to the core of our faith.

                So far, I have adeptly avoided the answer. Skirted the issue.

                I can’t answer for you, only myself. You can’t answer for me, only yourself.

                No one word is sufficient although Peter’s answer, “the Messiah” is intriguingly close, although it is, historically, a complicated word. But, for me, it captures the reassuring, compelling hope and promise of someone who makes a transforming, redeeming difference in our lives and even in our world. Jesus is the One who makes the world a better place, makes me a better person.

                After reading that last paragraph, it comes across to me as a bit of a stuffy or stodgy answer, not up to the task which I have put before us.  Jesus is anything but stuffy! It misses the importance of how I feel or what I experience in my encounters with Jesus, that “hearts-burning-within-us” experience which the two Emmaus-bound disciples felt when they realized that their companion along the way was Jesus. Answering the question is harder than you might think.

                Like Peter, we may say the right words about Jesus but get it so totally wrong as he did just a bit later. We may try to turn Jesus into our own personal benefactor, a magician to meet our wants, an ally for our prejudices and judgements.  But Jesus will have none of our attempts to put him in our boxes or use him to make the world like the way we want the world to be. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” (Mark 8:33)

                But even our mistakes should not mean that we don’t keep trying to know who Jesus is. Jesus of the Gospels is the deeply compassionate, inclusive, life-affirming agent for God. Jesus of the Gospels cares about the suffering of others, reaches out to the most untouchable people, forgives and frees. Jesus reaches out to you and me from the pages of the Gospels. No one word can capture all that.

A famous theologian, Karl Barth, who wrote copious amounts of theology, was once asked to sum up his faith in Jesus. He replied, “Jesus loves me; this I know because the Bible tells me so.” Maybe that is the best place to start with Jesus in our understanding of who he is. Jesus is Love incarnated!

                In the next two or three-hours, Jesus healed many from diseases, distress, and evil spirits. To many of the blind he gave the gift of sight. Then he gave his answer: “Go back and tell John what you have just seen and heard: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the wretched of the earth have God’s salvation hospitality extended to them. Is this what you were expecting? Then count yourselves fortunate!”  (Luke 7: 22 -23, The Message Bible)

                Now, that for me, is the essence of who Jesus is and what he is about.

                Yet, I feel that I have only scratched the surface. But we have to start somewhere.

                I challenge you not to just assume you know who Jesus is. This Lent, put some serious thought into your answer. You may be amazed at what you discover!

Dale

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

“Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!” (Genesis 1: 31, New Living Translation)

                Praise be! I finished it.  Yesterday, I finished putting together my red, Lego, British, double decker bus. It’s looking mighty fine. (This is the last of my Lego stories – I promise! Well, for now…)

                I had a small setback when some of it fell apart while I was attaching some other pieces. But with patience and calm (uncharacteristic of me, I know), I pieced it back together and then put the finishing touches on the whole project. Voila! A red, British, double decker bus. It is not perfect but I am rather proud of it, if I do say so myself. I didn’t cure cancer or stop wars but I still have some sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

                The Genesis stories of Creation inform us that God also felt a profound sense of accomplishment and achievement in his acts of creation. From First Light to the human beings who God created in his own image, it was all good. More than good – it was very good. Every day brought out something from the loving goodness of God, making Creation sacred, unique, a blessing, an imaginative and innovative project which formed into our existence and the planet on which we live. These wondrous stories remind us of the richness and the abundance and the sacredness of all created existence, from the smallest detail to the biggest.

                How God came up with the platypus or the giraffe, I don’t know, but they, too, are good, very good. On that seventh day of rest, God looked at all he had made and pronounced it all to be very good.

                “It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” (Isaiah 55: 11, NLT)

                I suppose I could go the way of exclaiming and complaining about how we, God’s very image, have so often spoiled God’s very good Creation. Wars, pollution, etc.

                But let’s focus, instead, on the goodness of accomplishment and achievement. Let’s consider the sense of satisfaction from a job well done. Let’s reflect on the spirit of the pleasure and fulfillment we receive from doing things the best way, the right way, the productive way.

                Paul wrote in his second letter to the Thessalonians, “May God give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.” (1:11)

                Each of us has a life to build. We don’t have to build it alone for God always offers his encouragement, counsel and support. Jesus has set the best example. The Holy Spirit aids us. But we do have to put the work in. We have to figure out what fits and what doesn’t. We have to make right choices and decisions.  We have to follow the directions (i.e. scripture). We have to discern the good from the bad.  But it is all worth it. “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20, NLT)

                We will not always do it perfectly. There may be times that it seems to fall apart and we have to so some rebuilding. We may need patience and perseverance. But the end-product – although I could argue that we are never totally finished in this life - is something for which we can feel a sense of accomplishment, pride, achievement. “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2: 10, NLT)

                “Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.” (Ephesians 4: 24, NLT)

 Dale

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

 “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.”  (Matthew 17: 29, The Message Bible)

               For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the message was lost. For want of a message the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

My Lego project, a British double-decker bus, had been going very well. But, then, I couldn’t get a small piece to attach to the back of the bus. I tried and tried. I tried to force it a little but it still wouldn’t hold in place. I spent twenty minutes trying to solve the problem to no avail. The similar piece on the other side fit perfectly. It was quite frustrating. I was about to go and get the crazy glue when I noticed that there was a tiny, little piece – smaller than my pinky fingernail - that was missing. Once I had it in its proper place the obstinate piece snapped right in.

                All for the want of a tiny piece of Lego.

                It is all in the details. Sometimes, it is the little things that count or matter. It is the little particulars that help make the big things work out better. We are probably more familiar with Jesus’ saying that if we had the faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move mountains. What he is saying, in part, is that our strength comes from paying attention to finding the little  pieces that put our faith to work in our lives.

                It is easy to lose touch with our faith. Faith can sometimes shrink because of our lack of attention. It becomes detached from our lives – goes missing. But we need faith, our trust in God, to help make the bigger life picture take shape and hold together.

                O you of little faith, an exacerbated Jesus would sometimes lament.

                Now, unfortunately, some people have used Jesus’ words about the poppy seed or mustard seed faith to criticize others for their falsely-perceived lack of faith in the face of crises and calamities. It is very mean-spirited when one is facing, let’s say, the serious illness or dying of a loved one.  It is a cruel use of this text and makes the other person feel like a failure when their faith doesn’t get the results they had hoped or prayed for. Or it makes God a failure. 

                But that is not Jesus’ intent.  Quite the opposite. Jesus is telling us not to give up even in the direst of situations. He is affirming that even the smallest flicker of faith can make a difference in our struggles, in our challenges, in our trials and tribulations. Sure, we always need to find ways to increase our faith, to grow and mature in our faith, but I don’t think God has a faith meter in which we need to measure a minimum level before God cares.

                Jesus is letting us know that even in the toughest situation, the smallest flicker of faith that seeks out God finds an encouraging, uplifting, loving response from God. “There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.”   

                But it also challenges us with the question about what is missing in our lives?  What small piece of our spiritual make-up is missing or needs to be found and added so that our whole faith is up to the tasks at hand? It is one thing to keep the spark of faith alive but it is another when we let our faith atrophy all-together because we have ceased to pay attention to the details that keep it alive and healthy. Prayer. Scripture reading. Worship. Fellowship.

                “My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2: 6 -6, TMB)

Dale      

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” (Luke 6: 38, New Living Translation)

                We have been hearing a lot about “skimpflation” lately in the news.

                Skimpflation happens when food manufacturers reduce the amounts or the quality of their products to save costs. The products cost the same to us, the consumers, but we are not getting the same goods as we did before. Cereal boxes may be the same size but have less weight of contents. A granola bar was once labeled as being covered in milk chocolate; now all it promises is a “chocolatey coating.” Chip bags are smaller. A popular energy drink has 14% less fluid.  One pizza chain cut its chicken wings from eight pieces to six. We’re paying the same prices, maybe more, and getting less.

                These are tough times. The economy has been very slow in recovering from the pandemic. People are also having to stretch their hard-earned dollars to make ends meet. Food banks have never been so busy or so short of food, sometimes. Homelessness is extensive. Skimpflation seems to have pervaded our culture on many levels.

                Yet, Jesus, far from rich or prosperous himself, dependent on others for his daily bread, spoke against skimpflation. Not that he used such a modern word, but, more likely, he was thinking about miserliness, selfishness, stinginess, greed, hoarding, building our own bigger barns while others go without. We hold back rather than give forward. We hold out rather than hand out.

 Jesus, and likewise God, is synonymous with generosity. “From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.”  (John 1:16, NLT) Jesus is God’s generous gift for us: “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9, NLT) Trust in this generosity is of paramount importance: “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”

And that is the thing here – our willingness to give, share and provide for others because God has been so generous with us. “Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.” (2 Corinthians 9:11, NLT)

In others words, don’t be skimpy when it comes to helping others. It comes with the journey of following Jesus.

A few weeks ago, I came out of the grocery store with my fully laden, food bags. There was a young man, standing the cold, by the door. He asked me for some spare change. Who carries spare change anymore? I certainly didn’t have any. I put my bags in the back and got in the car. But, for some reason, I was bothered by this brief encounter. Something niggled at me. Jesus’ voice? Perhaps.  I looked in my wallet and there was a ten-dollar bill in it. My first thought was that ten dollars was a bit rich for a handout to a stranger. Who knows what he really wanted the money for? But Jesus wouldn’t let me go. So, I got back out of my car and went to the man and gave him the ten bucks. He was very grateful.

I share that story not to pat myself on the back or to be praised; there have been lots and lots of times I have ignored and walked by someone who was panhandling. But the incident sharply reminds me that I have received directions from Jesus to be generous when I can. Don’t be skimpy, Jesus says. Why give 50 cents if you can give more!

“But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity.” (Isaiah 32:8, NLT)

And although there are plenty of scriptural encouragements that we will be rewarded for our generosity, I don’t think that this should be our motivation alone. Our motivation is God’s Love as is evidenced in Jesus Christ.

“And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.” (Philemon 1:6, NLT)

Dale