We're All in the Same Boat

Second Sunday after Pentecost, Year A

Lectionary text: Romans 5:1-8 (NRSV)

I’m not privileged.

I have no special status.

No one has helped me.

I don’t owe anything to anyone.

I have pulled myself up from my own bootstraps.

I haven’t had an advantage that others didn’t have – in fact, I can name several ways that I was disadvantaged growing up and have overcome it.

When I was getting ready to attend college, my parents were going to help me with the cost of tuition.  We had a family business dealing with software for the oil and gas industry.  When I was starting college in the fall of 1986, oil had fallen from $27 a barrel to less than $10 a barrel.  Sound familiar?

I remember my parents coming to me and telling me that while they would help as much as they could, paying for college was going to be up to me as our business was barely hanging on.  So I managed to graduate in four years and came out with only a few student loans that I paid off before going on to get my master’s degree (which I also paid for).

I could easily have folded and said it was too hard.  I pressed on.  

I could have easily blamed the economy and quit.  I endured.  

I could have gone into deep debt but I lived frugally in order to have a brighter future.

Let’s all give it up to me!

Well, the details of this story are all factual but they only tell part of the story.  I was privileged to have two parents in the home that supported me throughout my childhood.  It was a stable home and I was never mistreated nor did I worry about my parents splitting up.  I was privileged to have parents that instilled in me a sense of hard work.  I was able to creatively work my way through school to lessen the debt load because I had parents who modeled a can-do attitude.  I was privileged to even want to pursue education because I was born to parents with college degrees (dad also had a master's) who set an expectation for higher learning.

     

Beyond these privileges, I have always been in the racial majority.  This is an advantage that is difficult for those who haven’t experienced otherwise to understand or comprehend.  What does it mean to be the only one of your race in a social setting?  What if there were historic social inequalities that remain hidden just beneath the surface?  What if I had to second-guess my relationships with those of the majority race because of past slights I had experienced?

I don't even want to
get started on this sign!

This week’s epistle reminds us that we are all sinners.   Yet, we all receive the grace of God in Christ Jesus.  We are privileged to stand before God blameless – not because of anything we earned but because what we’ve received in the love of God.  If I can stand on this privilege, I must do so with humility, recognizing that we are all in this together.

This may be a crucial step for Christians to take in order to recognize our brothers and sisters who may be hurting because of injustices built into a system where people have not received the same treatment under the law.   It may be a matter of gratitude.  I am grateful for the blessings – earned and unearned – that I have received.  If we can’t develop a sense of thankfulness, we will end up entitled – maybe like I portrayed myself in the first part of the blog.  I think the apostle Paul would say that a sense of entitlement is deadly spiritually.  

I don’t think it will help us as a society either.

Join us for worship on Sunday as we continue to unpack this text together.  I'll try to bring more humility and less entitlement!

In Christ,

Sam

Photo by Steve Harwood via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

Enduring Beyond this Present Age

Pentecost Sunday, Year A

Lectionary reading: Psalm 104:24-35 (NRSV)

Pentecost is of course, the celebration of when the church began as recorded in the Book of Acts by Luke.  We have seen almost 2,000 years of history since that day and the church has undergone lots of changes due to cultural shifts.  We may be in the midst of another.  We often speak of the current isolation effecting the world's economy but if we drill down a bit, we can see that it will also effect the church.

There is an economic impact that individual churches are facing.  Most churches already operate without a lot of cushion to their budgets and this will be difficult - especially for the smaller congregations.  While the coronavirus has touched church members around the world, we have also experienced higher than average death rate for other causes as well.  This may be from the heightened stress breaking down immune responses.

Some congregations have a season of faithfulness
and later close.  This is a normal cycle of life.

If you take churches in the United States, they are more likely to be made up of membership that would be considered vulnerable due to the average age of congregants.  This would mean that many individual members may stay home as churches begin to open their sanctuaries again.  I would guess that it would be worse in urban areas than in rural areas where counties may not have any cases.

As we offer online worship, it seems that our participation may, for some churches, be higher than when they were meeting in the building.  Of course, gauging a good number for this is difficult and the standards seem to vary depending on who's doing the counting.  But there is a possibility that Christianity will reach more people through this health crisis.  What may be hard to determine is how many of the larger churches are reaching viewers from smaller churches that aren't able to access their own church.  Even though modern technology makes it possible for all churches to broadcast worship, the training or expertise for such endeavors is not equally distributed.

When churches begin to meet again in their buildings, we will likely see less people present physically which will hopefully be offset by people continuing to worship online.  One possibility would be that some people won't come back after the hiatus.  Lots of things cause people to fall away but with this pause, it may be that more people than usual will decide they won't be returning.  As we see American society move away from regular worship as a whole, will this accelerate the decline?

The Psalm reading for Pentecost doesn't mention anything really about the church (of course any Old Testament nod to the church is Christian extrapolation) or even corporate worship.  It is more individually spiritual as the human spirit witnesses to the Creator among all the outdoor observance.  There is a sense of gratitude that comes when we experience the mystery of God's creation.

Even with the ebb and flow of church participation through the ages, people feel a sense of the sacred through a variety of experiences.  As the psalmist declares, "I will sing praise to God while I have being," we can recognize that we often have a desire to gather with others to share the mystery we find in the whole of the created order.  As Paul writes to us through Romans 1:20, we are reminded,

"Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made."

This reminds us that God touches people all around the world.  God can be experienced simply by walking in the woods.  The church will undergo changes as it always has but it will come through this coronavirus.  Some individual places will close but as a whole, the expression will continue.  Some churches will grow after we begin to meet in person again.  And the church will continue after we're gone.  But how we respond today will make a difference to future generations. 

It's exciting to be on the cusp of something new.  What will God do with us as we celebrate this latest birthday of Christ's church?  Join us online as we continue to explore our future together!

In Christ,

Sam

Photo by Forsaken Fotos via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Walking with God

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Reading: Psalm 23

Within Oklahoma, Governor Stitt has outlined a plan for houses of worship to reopen on Sunday.  At the same time, Bishop Nunn, who oversees the Oklahoma Conference, has determined that United Methodist churches in Oklahoma won't be reopening this early.  We will have further evaluation after May 17.  My guess is that we are looking more toward June for reopening the Edmond and Guthrie sanctuaries provided that coronavirus cases don't spike again.

We will do our best to communicate in advance when we will reopen as soon as a decision is made.

Even when we do our best, we often
break the six foot guideline in public.

I recognize that this is frustrating.  As the weather warms and we see more people getting outside, the urge to return to business as usual increases, especially in populations that are not statistically vulnerable to COVID-19.  A part of the reason for continued social distancing is to do no harm to those who may be vulnerable.  You may not wear the mask or keep six feet apart for yourself as much as for those you are trying not to infect.  As United Methodists, this is the first of John Wesley's General Rules: Do no harm.  The Center for Disease Control's guidelines for Social Distancing still instruct people to avoid mass gatherings and so we comply for the good of the whole.

We must be clear that even though the disease may wane in Oklahoma, it is still possible for people to catch it.  As we reopen businesses and see more mingling, we want to make sure that there is not a new surge of cases.  Even as we consider opening our church doors again, it is likely that guidelines will still be in place to leave every other pew open.  Our church nursery will not be available until we get the okay.  We won't be offering children's church until the nursery is available.  We won't be passing the peace with one another during worship and coffee and donuts won't be served before and after worship.  Offering plates won't be passed but rather people will deposit their offering as they exit the sanctuary.  The staff is still trying to figure out how we will offer Holy Communion while keeping everyone safe.

Some may look at this list and say, "Why bother?"  It is a part of the frustration we all feel in trying to get back to normal.  As Oklahomans, our economy is also impacted by the unbelievably low price of oil.  Even as the United States gained energy independence, our energy sector was driven by a certain amount of oil consumption.  With the pandemic, the demand for oil has dropped dramatically as people are not commuting to work, not traveling in airplanes or taking vacations on cruise ships.  This further complicates things for state economies that are enmeshed with the oil industry.

For many, this may be the last straw to set off frayed nerves.  It certainly can feel like the "Valley of the shadow of death" as per the King James version of Psalm 23.  So even though we are not able to meet in person, we are doing our best to offer the ability to worship as individuals or families as you shelter at home.  For those who don't have internet capability, we are happy to mail you a DVD of Sunday's service at no cost.  If you know of someone who doesn't have a DVD player, we have a limited number that were donated to help with our isolation.  Please leave a message on the church office phone at 405.341.0107 if you want to be added to the list.     

We are going to great lengths to provide worship because we recognize that our faith is vital to sustaining our spirits during this time.  On Sunday, we'll explore the most beloved of the Psalms.  As the Lord is our shepherd, it tests our faith to declare, "I shall not want" in a time when our desires are so evident.

I continue to pray for you as we seek to do what is right while at the same time looking to the safety of as many as possible.  If you're on Facebook, I would invite you to follow the Edmond and Guthrie church pages to easily find our online worship Sunday mornings at 11 am.  If you're not, I would invite you to subscribe to our Edmond YouTube page.  You can find Sunday's worship here.  If you watched on Facebook Sunday, you may have missed a surprise at the end of the service that you can see on YouTube!  Blessings to you as we move through this together!

In Christ,

Sam

Photo by Joey Bird via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

The Thanksgiving Sacrifice

Third Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Reading: Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 (NRSV)

This particular Psalm was evidently selected during the Easter season because one could easily interpret the selected verses as read from the perspective of the resurrected Jesus.

When we read, "The snares of death encompassed me", we would no longer see it as metaphorical but actual.  Jesus did, in fact, die.

And when we see the Psalmist say, “O Lord, I pray, save my life!”, we remember how Jesus prayed in Mark 14:36 in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.”

If we hear Jesus' voice in this Psalm, one cannot help but equate his mother Mary with the "serving girl" mentioned in verse 16.  It is Mary's very words from Luke 1:38 which state, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

So just as we see the risen Christ within these verses, we may also find them as verses that resonate with our lives as we go through the pain of isolation.

What does this do to people psychologically and

spiritually when we are created for community?

What stands out to me is the idea in verse 17 of offering a thanksgiving sacrifice.  This was done liturgically in the temple and the rules for such are lined out in Leviticus 7:11-18.  For modern American worshipers in the 21st century, our rituals surrounding thanksgiving usually occur around this named national holiday in the United States.  We also regularly offer praise and thanksgiving in worship through singing, litanies and corporate prayers.  We make an offering through our financial gifts that is hopefully done out of thanksgiving for all that we have received!

But what does it mean to express thankfulness itself as an offering?  And if we seek to be grateful when all around us is chaos, is this a sacrifice on our behalf?  Can I afford to part with my grief over all that I've lost?  Is it too much to look for resurrection or is this merely glossing over a deeper pain that will fester if I don't tend to it?  But if I tend to a wound too long, will it ever heal?

I hope to address these questions as we further examine this Psalm in worship on Sunday.  Plan on joining us either Sunday at 11 am via Facebook or YouTube or at a time of your choosing!

In Christ,

Sam

Photo by Tim Dennell via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture used from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Easter Sunday

Scripture Reading: Acts 28:23-31 (NRSV)

And here we see the journey complete.  We started out in the first chapter of Acts with the disciples receiving the mission to be witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus "to the ends of the earth."  As I mentioned yesterday, the establishment of the church in Rome becomes a launching place for the entirety of the Roman empire which was their known world at that time.

Paul was not one of those who initially receives this instruction but he discovers it as the story of the church unfolds.  We are reminded of the exponential nature of the Christian witness.  At some point, it is likely that one of the original apostles baptized Ananias who initially received Paul and baptized him. 

We see Paul continue with his witness to both Jews and Gentiles.  Even though he has continually found opposition (sometimes violent) within the Jewish populations, enough have evidently been convinced that he continues to pursue conversations with them. 

We do see his frustration as he quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10 as does Jesus in Matthew in 13:14-15.  But we find that this applies to all people.  There will always be people whether Jew or Christian that do not follow through with the teachings that are laid out before them.

It is fitting that we see Luke describing that Paul shares the gospel boldly and without hindrance.  We don't see anything about Paul's martyrdom in Rome.  There's not even any hint of it.  While some scholars think that there was a sequel in the works by Luke, I'm not sure that Luke doesn't end the story here as a nod to the resurrection.  All of us eventually die be that by violence such as Paul or by old age which is how we would prefer.  But Paul is never more alive here than when he is sharing the gospel in the capital city of the world in which he lived!

And on Easter Sunday, we remember that the resurrection does give us life!  It reminds us to look past our current troubles and to remember that all things renew.  We see God at work in bold as well as subtle ways that lift our spirits and restore our souls. 

As you are a beneficiary of the early work of the apostles, what witness will you bear to the resurrection faith?  How will your story be a part of the larger story of God in the world?  What lives will you touch in a positive way that will look back to you with thankfulness that your paths crossed?

It doesn't take large actions but rather a sense of transformation.  One that bids us to pay attention to those things that build up rather than tear down.  And in this, Christ is alive - in you, in me and in the world.

Prayer for the day:

Gracious God, through the cross, you recognize the frailty of humanity.
In raising Christ from the dead, you move past any limits of frailty and finality.
May we too be raised with Christ.
Free us from the hindrance of sin.
Move us in the Holy Spirit to the freedom of love,
that our very being would be born anew,
and that our witness would emerge from our identification with this marvelous resurrection faith!
Amen.

Photo by Peter Roome via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 40

Scripture Reading: Acts 28:1-22 (NRSV)

Paul's time on Malta is not without its excitement.  Prior to the healing of the sick, he lives through a venomous snake bite with no real consequence other than the locals begin to mistake him for a god.  This is not the first time we've seen this as we remember in chapter 14 he was confused for Hermes.

We see this snake handling among other miracles of Paul verified in Mark 16:17-18 which reads:

"And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Verses 9-20 from chapter 16 in Mark were later additions to his gospel and it is quite likely that they were written after the Book of Acts.  Paul seems to display all of these except the drinking of poison.  However, he does seem to shrug off the venom of the snake.  We see Paul laying his hands upon the father of Publius in today's reading and he is healed.  Then he cures the diseases of all who were on the island.  I'm sure they would have been happy for him to remain!

As Paul takes warmth in the hospitality
of a campfire, they then receive the
blessing of healing and good health.

Paul must travel on so as to fulfill his mission from God.  He finally arrives in Rome and finds that he is preceded by the Christian witness as he encounters believers who came to meet him.  While they are not mentioned by name, one wonders if some of the people Paul writes to in his Epistle to the Romans were present. 

Once again, Paul engages the Jewish population.  While they have heard negative press against Christianity in general, they have not received any bad word against Paul.  He seems to have caught a break!

Rome as the capital city holds more importance for the ancient world than we may understand today.  For Christianity to thrive in the world as they knew it, a church in Rome was vital.  Paul's success can be seen if you visit today as Vatican City in Rome is the center of the Roman Catholic Church.

While we await Easter once more, what does it mean for the faith to have spread around the world to touch our lives?  What history had to happen for it to come and transform me?  And how am I shaping today the history of tomorrow?

Prayer for the day:

Almighty and most merciful Father, 
   in whom we live and move and have our being, 
   to whose tender compassion we owe our safety in days past, 
   together with all the comforts of this present life and the hopes of that which is to come; 
we praise you, O God, our Creator; 
unto you do we give thanks, 
   O God our exceeding Joy, who daily pours your benefits upon us. 
Grant, we beseech you, that Jesus our Lord, the Hope of glory, may be formed in us, 
   in all humility, meekness, patience, contentedness, 
   and absolute surrender of our souls and bodies to your holy will and pleasure. 
Leave us not, nor forsake us, O Father, 
   but conduct us safe through all changes of our condition here, 
   in an unchangeable love to you, 
   and in holy tranquility of mind in your love to us, 
   till we come to dwell with you, 
   and rejoice in you forever.  
Amen. 

Prayer by Simon Patrick, Church of England, 17th century

Photo by Mathias Erhart via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 38

Scripture Reading: Acts 27:1-26 (NRSV)

The first part of this passage reminds me of a road trip journal.  We are seeing various ports in the Mediterranean Sea that give us an idea of Paul's journey to Rome.

The trouble with the storm reminds me of Jonah's flight to Tarshish.  While it is clear that Paul is sailing to Rome on behalf of God's call on his life, Jonah had done the opposite.  God was the one behind the storms in Jonah's day as we see in Jonah 1:4-6:

But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. The captain came and said to him, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.”

Jonah seems to have a sense of calm about him even when running from God!  He's able to sleep through the storm and had to be awakened.  We find that Jonah's answer will be to save the ship and crew through sacrificing himself by jumping into the raging waters.

Paul doesn't make this same offer, likely because he doesn't see the storm as a stumbling block from God.  We do see them throw the cargo overboard as the mariners did in Jonah's day.  God's message to Paul is that everyone is going to live through this ordeal.

We also remember that Jesus slept through a storm on the waters.  We see it in Luke 8:22-25:

One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm.  He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?”

While Paul has worked miracles including exorcisms, healing and even raising one from the dead, he evidently doesn't have authority over the waves as Jesus did.  I'm sure it wasn't for lack of prayer!

I feel like I'm waiting for the rainbow
at the end of the storm.

This is a good reminder that we often sail into storms in life not of our making.  We get caught up in chaos that just happens.  This is what it feels like as we bunker down for COVID-19.  We were minding our own business when business as usual just came to a screeching halt.  Some people are feeling annoyed.  Others are frightened.  We might even have the idea of "just a little bit longer..." and the whole thing will go away and we'll be back to normal any day now.

We remember that when the storms rage, we turn to our faith.  We would like for Jesus to wake up and rebuke the pandemic.  Barring that, we would like to hear a word like Paul's that says, "I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you" and "God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you."

Ultimately, we will make it through this.  It will be difficult.  We will likely be touched by grief and loss.  But we remember that God sails with us.  And every age has its storms.

Prayer for the day:

Lord, our heavenly Father, who orders all things for our eternal good, mercifully enlighten our minds, and give us a firm and abiding trust in your love and care.  Silence our murmurings, quiet our fears, and dispel our doubts, that rising above our afflictions and our anxieties, we may rest on you, the rock of everlasting strength.  Amen.

Prayer from New Church Book of Worship, 1876

Photo by Rob Romard via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.

All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Daily Devotion for Lent 2020 - Day 36

Scripture Reading: Acts 26:1-18 (NRSV)

Paul begins his testimony before King Agrippa who was the ruler of parts of Palestine.  This is the third time in the Book of Acts that Luke relates his conversion (the first being 9:1-8; the second being 22:4-16).  We see Paul stand upon his Jewish credentials.  This was likely something he did throughout his career as he went from place to place, sharing faith in the synagogues.  We see this in his own words from Philippians 3:4b-6 as he writes:

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

In today's reading, he expounds upon his persecution of the church.  He was certainly a bulldog in his pursuit of those he felt were wrong.  In this third account, when Jesus speaks to Paul, we hear him add the phrase, "It hurts you to kick against the goads."  A goad was a sharp stick used to prod a donkey or an ox.  We see even Jesus acknowledging Paul's tiresome doggedness in pursuing what he thought was right.

We have all known people with this personality trait.  You may wonder why God would choose Paul to be such an emissary to the faith.  It may have been because he was so relentless in his pursuit of his ideals.  With his new understanding of faith, Paul will work toward this witness with the same sense of zeal.  When we began chapter one of Acts and we heard in verse eight, "you will be my witnesses...to the ends of the earth" we were thinking that it would be the original twelve (minus Judas) disciples.

Paul's transformation and elevation reminds us that God works in ways we would not foresee.  I don't think God inspired Paul to persecute the early church so that later Paul would have the appropriate cred to reach future persecutors.  But I do think that God uses misspent free will to create something new.

What places in your life were difficult to overcome or endure?  Which things would bring you shame if you trotted them out in the light of day?  Have they given you mettle?  Made you more compassionate?  Because of the sins of our past, are we more willing to forgive people who commit sins in the present?

Prayer for the day:

Gracious God, raise us from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness.  Do not let us forget our past but rather heal us from what still hurts.  As it scabs over and becomes a scar, let us bear it wisely.  Give us empathy with others who may be so currently afflicted.  May your Holy Spirit use our entire selves for the witness of the evangel that pervades the earth.  Amen.

Photo by judyboo via Flickr.com.  Used under the Creative Commons license.
  
All scripture quoted is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.