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Orphaned - Eastertide Reading 6/8/2014

6/8/2014

Ps 33        John 14: 21-29

In the Message, we find the following translation:

16 I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. 17 This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you! 18 "I will not leave you orphaned. I'm coming back.

"I will not leave you orphaned."  And again, "I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you."

We all have those moments in life when we feel that someone, something, life, or God has "let us down". Perhaps you have prayed and asked for God's guidance and help and the only response you could discern was silence. And at those moments, you feel alone, almost "orphaned" as the scripture describes it.

Jesus has been telling his disciples that he is will be going away and leaving them, and yet he promises not to leave them "orphaned". God will provide "another Friend so that you will always have someone with you."

While I may not understand all the details of this promise, I do claim the good news of this promise. This means that I am truly never alone. God dwells inside me, inside you, inside everyone that we meet, healing our hearts from the inside out.

When we feel alone and "orphaned" especially by God, we need to remember that perhaps what is needed is for us to sit someplace quiet and listen very carefully for the sound of the wind of the Spirit blowing inside of us, for the sound of the still small voice that speaks in silence more often than it speaks in words, and feel the glow of the flames of the Devine presence within us.

We are never alone, truly. We have a Friend inside at all times, healing us from the inside out when we are willing to be healed.

                                                                                                                                                                                    Robert Carter

Stretch - Eastertide Reading 6/7/2014

6/8/2014

Ps 108 Luke 11:14-23

Below is a short poem by John Updike, published in his last book of poetry, Endpoint. It’s a celebration of ordinary things—perhaps a good thing in the midst of 50 days of Eastertide. - Martha Murphree

Stretch

What light is tenderer

than that of early February

at 5:05 pm or so,

just trying brightness out?

The trash cans lie empty

and cockeyed on the curb,

the trees in the little park

had old snow in their shade,

but a bird’s rude song pierces

the cloud of expectant twigs

while a real cloud turns magenta

in the newly prolonged blue.

Thankfulness - Eastertide Reading 6/6/2014

6/6/2014

Ps 107:1-32 Luke 10:38-42

These readings are a Psalm praising God and the story of Jesus as he praises the act of stopping to listen to his message rather than do a duty. An interesting combination, one that reminds me on the one hand that we have a LOT to be thankful for. And on the other hand, that it takes a painful event to sometimes remind us of what we are thankful for. A cycle, much like in the Psalm: falling (literally or figuratively), calling to God for help, being redeemed, and praising God.

There's no beginning or end. Are we destined to repeat this? Probably. And it will likely look so different every time we fall that we won't even realize we're in the cycle again. While that may seem depressing at first, it is a cycle, I believe, that leads to growth and wisdom. Nothing makes me feel stronger than coming to the other side of a very painful or sad event. I have no desire to go through pain or suffer anymore - but I know I will. And I know that I will continue to grow. I don't want to give that up.

Pleasure and pain. Growth and death. Praise and forgetfulness. Not just two sides of the coin but 180 degrees from one another in the cycle. A cycle we all have to learn for ourselves, we can't teach it. Well, Jesus could! I certainly am not done learning this cycle. I will continue to fall, to call, and to praise. As will we all. The difference is when and who we call for help. Will those we ask be able? Will we be able to see when help is provided or are we blinded by what we think we need? And when help does come, can we praise, can we thank?

Psalm 107 is one heck of a thank you note to God. Studies have shown that when we take the time to thank those who we feel have helped us it makes us happier. Thanking makes us appreciate more. Thanking helps us love. Thanking is quite possibly the only thing that makes our cycle of pain worthwhile.

-Jodi Bash

Redeeming Love - Eastertide Reading 6/5/2014

6/5/2014

Ps 105:23-45 Luke 10:25-37

We've walked in darkness,

The light could not pierce it.
The signs of hopelessness
multiplied without end.

We lay broken.

A certain Samaritan
Had compassion on us.
Bound up our wounds.

Take care of them:
When I come again,
I will repay you.

I will come to you yet again
I will not leave you comfortless.
I will come to you yet again.

Praise the mount
We're fixed upon it
Mount of thy redeeming love.

-Kathleen Cook

Back to the Basics - Eastertide Reading 6/4/2014

6/4/2014

Ps 119:121-144 Luke 10:17-24

There is something unsettling, yet renewing about these texts during Eastertide. Both scriptures raise questions about contemporary notions of education, knowledge, wisdom, and insight. It is commonly assumed that smart, intellectual people have more years of formal education. In our society, we say “wisdom comes with age.” Moreover, there are those who believe spiritual insight is only reserved for a select few.

Some of us attend college to receive undergraduate and graduate degrees. We hope to maintain or increase our socioeconomic standing in life. With advanced medicines, we live longer. There are people who spend countless hours and years searching for the meaning of their lives. They attend a myriad of spiritual retreats and read voraciously in search for the inner and external voice of the Divine.

Yet, at Eastertide we are invited to consider a reality that God’s unfolding words “gives light; . . . imparts understanding to the simple.” We are challenged by a reality that sometimes God hides insights from “the wise and the intelligent” while revealing precious lessons to “infants.” At Eastertide, we are challenged to suspend our rational brains and a lifetime of experiences.

We are not invited into a debate regarding a literal or metaphorical resurrection.

We are not invited into a conversation about the “Jesus of History” or “Christ of Faith.”

We are invited to take a look at the simple things in our lives.

We are invited to go into the place where we learned hope and trust for the first time.

When we reach that simple place, we are encouraged to grab hold of the wisdom, knowledge, education, and insight that we glean. We use those lessons to thrive in this season of resurrection and renewal.

-Moses Mason

What is prayer? - Eastertide Reading 6/3/2014

6/3/2014

Ps 100       Luke 10:1-17

They were foolish enough to ask me to write a meditation. Is this even vaguely appropriate?

1    Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

2    Worship the Lord with gladness;
       come before him with joyful songs.

3     Know that the Lord is God.
       It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
       we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4     Enter his gates with thanksgiving
       and his courts with praise;
       give thanks to him and praise his name.

5     For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
       his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I’ve always been a bit dubious about the words “praise”, “give thanks” and “worship” used in a religious context. It feels like we are simultaneously anthropomorphizing and infantilizing this entity as though we’re placating a particularly narcissistic and needy parent.

Oh, hell, I’m not even sure I understand what the act of praying is all about. Are we actually speaking to a being which has agency in the world and will, if adequately importuned, act? Or is it just a way of organizing and expressing our fears and anxieties and desires?

I suppose that the idea must be that we should always be aware of the glories of this universe in which we find ourselves, and I have known moments when I feel so lucky that I have a need to express a kind of general gratitude. And very often I have that feeling in Covenant services.

It’s a conundrum, but one for which I am grateful.

-Ruddy Cravens

Growth (Don't be Afraid) - Eastertide Reading 6/2/2014

6/2/2014

Ps 89:1-18 Luke 9:51-62

I believe Easter is about change, transformation, and growth. There aren't many universal truths that most people can agree on, but one seems to be that change in our world is constant. So as humans we are constantly changing, and as a part of the change process, we are called to let go of what we no longer need or that which we have outgrown. Too often we have a hard time letting go of the familiar, and so we hold on tightly to that which doesn't serve us anymore. The result of not letting go is that we may find ourselves struggling or stuck.

In the Easter story, Jesus gives us the perfect model for transformation. He asked God to take from him the task of dying. Once Jesus submitted to God's will and let go of his own will, it was in this process that he was transformed. Each time we relinquish and let go of our will and become willing to trust God, we are changed. As a result, we grow in our faith journey. This a reminder that we can experience change without growth but we cannot experience growth without change, In this Easter season, may we embrace change and let go so we may be transformed and come closer to being the person that God created us to be.

Suzanne Counts

Psalm 67, Eastertide Reading 6/1/2014

6/1/2014

Ps 67 Matt 10:18-33

Psalm 67 (NRSV)

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, (Selah) 2 that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. (Selah) 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. 6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us. 7 May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.

Luke 9:37-50 Eastertide Reading 5/31/2014

6/1/2014

Ps 136 Luke 9:37-50

Luke 9:37-50 (NRSV)

37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not." 41 Jesus answered, "You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here." 42 While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astounded at the greatness of God. While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples, 44 "Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands." 45 But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying. 46 An argument arose among them as to which one of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side, 48 and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest." 49 John answered, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us." 50 But Jesus said to him, "Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you."